In what appears to be a new trend, marketers are beginning to run their TV commercials in clusters in an attempt to make more of an impression no viewers. Even the TV networks think the technique is
a bit odd, but say it's indicative of marketers' desire to be more targeted in their TV advertising. An example of the practice came in December when American Express ran three spots back-to-back in
the middle of commercial breaks during episodes of "60 Minutes" on CBS, "Lost" on ABC and "Law & Order" on NBC. The ads featured celebrities such as Robert DeNiro and Kate Winslet. The company said
it did so to make their commercial pitches harder to ignore, adding that it expects to continue bunching ads together in particular magazines and TV shows and other media venues that attract "high
interest." Amex is not alone in adopting the strategy. In a variation on the theme, Philips Electronics bought all the national ad time on a "60 Minute" telecast in October. Also, carrying the same
idea into the print medium, retail chain Target bought every page of advertising in an issue of
The New Yorker last summer.
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