Advertising Comes to DVR Owners

bill_kress writes "According to Reuters, television studios are finally trying to target DVR viewers with advertising. The effort, however, seems rather backwards — They are extending the same exact image across the entire 30 second commercial so that TIVO Viewers will be forced to view at least one frame. Wouldn't it be better to add value to the viewing experience instead?" From the article: "The advert for its new drama 'Brotherhood' will show a single image on the screen for the entire 30-second slot, and therefore retain its "sales message" when viewed even at the 12-times speeds enabled by Sky+ and other digital recorders, also known as personal video recorders, or PVRs. Advertisers have been racing to find ways to get messages through as higher numbers of consumers watch TV programs when they want using such recorders, often skipping the commercials."

Wow

[CerebusUS]

Gee, that won't upset the standard viewing public at all... will it?

Maybe they could play an emergency test tone over the entire 30 seconds, just to get everyone's attention.

The message will be..

[wfberg]

The message will be..

OBEY

Go Go!

[RyanFenton]

Tivo: Go go gadget 30 second skip! [bigmarv.net]

MythTV: Go go gadget commercial detection and skip! [mythtv.org]

Windows DVRs: Uh... Go go gadget DRM! Aw, crap!

Ryan Fenton

So...

[Mattintosh]

So, how long is it going to take for PVR makers to develop software that reads the AUDIO stream and returns you to your regularly scheduled programming when the waveform peaks go from clipped to normal? I don't want to jump 30 seconds forward. I want to skip the commercials.

The Spinal Tap Solution....

[lexsco]

.....PVR's that skip 31 Seconds.

Doh!

[Anonymous Coward]

Just make ads twelve times slower so they are shown with normal speed when fast-forwarding. (-:

Re:Wouldn't more interesting adds be the answer?

[Kesch]

You can't just wizz by Abe Lincon and a monkey playing jump rope, you have to see what it's all about.

This would make a good .sig

Re:Now this is just dumb

[kfg]

Bah, I'll just keep myself full of beer so that I don't understand the visual even if I see it.

Budweiser
Budweiser
Budweiser
Budweiser
.
.
.
Budweiser

KFG, Brought to you by -- Budweiser

Re:The Spinal Tap Solution....

[Kesch]

Pfft. The +Funny in GP podt goes all the way to +6.

Re:Go Go!

[Anonymous Coward]

Would it kill you to not act like a prick?

Re:Wouldn't more interesting adds be the answer?

[shippert]

Three words: Full frontal nudity.

Re:Ads Targeting TiVo

[gEvil (beta)]

I'm confused. What exactly am I supposed to do with it?

Re:Wow

[Anonymous Coward]

I enjoy playing the skin flute now and then.

Re:Wow

[treeves]

I play an instrument, and not to entertain myself. It's enjoyable, but it's not escape, it's work to some degree.

That said, I don't really give a rip. I don't have a TIVO. I don't even have cable TV. I don't even know why I was reading this. Silly me.

Re:Wow

[dubiousmike]

In the mean time, its people who sit in front of their computer for 14 hours a day who are smarmily telling the rest to read a book. That's like yelling to people who are using a Segway that they should ride a bike FROM THEIR CAR.

Re:Ads Targeting TiVo

[imthesponge]

I think it's some kind of birth control. At least I hope so, because that's how I've been using it.

Re:What I want

[ColaMan]

a gross classification for the ad (gambling, liquor, sex, stuff I don't care about)

Bender, is that you?

Re:Wow

[nacturation]

Get yourself a library card and kill your TV.

No, no... the answer is obvious: apply directly to the forehead.

(I also recommend tagging this story with applydirectlytotheforehead.)