The DVR Challenge: What Does It Take To Get Your Ads Seen?

I have no doubt that the advent of DVR's has dramatically changed how advertizing companies try pitch their products to us.  We no longer have to sit through their dry pitches or boring infomercials, we now can simply buzz straight through them.  A satellite company has even come out with a device that will actually "hop" through the adverts thereby saving you the annoyance of actually having to pick up your remote to skip through whatever dull pitch was being pitched.  Naturally, advertizing companies as well as big TV networks haven't been so thrilled about these advancements.  TV networks make most of their revenue from selling Ad spots.  Obviously, companies don't want to buy spots that aren't going to be seen, especially when you consider how much TV ad spots can cost.  My thought on the Ad company's complaints is, "up your game!"  If you don't want people to fast forward or hop through your advertisement, make it "skip" proof.  I can assure you that if your advertisement is good enough, people will stop to watch it.  There have been a couple over the years that have managed to convince my hubby and I to hit "stop" and "play" when fast forwarding through the dreaded Ad breaks.

One of our favorites were the E-trade ads featuring the "E-Trade Baby".  The earliest ones were the best and no matter how many times we had seen it before, we wanted to see it again.  This one is one of our all time favorites, followed by this one.   Then there were the Mac ads.  Remember these?  These ads combined information with humor and creativity.  The combination of all these qualities was enough to get us to stop and play their ads.  Even more amazing, we actually looked forward to seeing what the new installment in the series would be.  The latest ads I've enjoyed are the AllState "Mayham" ads.  The dry monotone of the actor combined with all the crazy situations he finds himself in (or that we find ourselves in) never fails to bring a smile.  My favorite one in the series is this one.  The dialogue, mannerisms, all of which helped to make us hit this "stop" and "play" for this ad.  The next one in the series that I really enjoyed (probably because I have had this happen to me a couple of times) is this one.  There are a couple more that are really amusing and well worth searching for on YouTube.

My point is, if the Ad is good, people will stop to watch.  It's no longer good enough to have an Ad that just sells something.  It has to entertain as well.  Rather than prohibit the use of "hopper" type devices and the like, why not just add more creativity to marketing your products.  People don't mind watching advertisements when they are funny or powerful.  When they are, they will stop to watch your spot, to hear what you have to say.

Maybe, instead of thinking of DVR as being a threat, maybe it should be seen as an incentive.  The goal being:  DVR proofing your Ad.  Make the Ad so entertaining that people actually want  to watch what you have to say.