• Wall Street Journal, Monday, May 8, 2006 11:45 AM

TiVo, long associated with giving viewers the ability to zip through TV commercials, is apparently hedging its bets. The company today is introducing a new service called Product Watch that allows consumers to actually download, rather than zap out, commercials they really want to see. About 70 major marketers have signed up to participate, all hoping to catch potential customers who are actively interested in their products and services. The list includes Kraft Foods, Ford Motor, General Motors and IAC/InterActive's LendingTree, all of whom will be charged only for viewers who download an ad--an arrangement similar to the pay-per-click model in paid-search Internet advertising. Most of the participating marketers will run longer- form ads that are more informative than traditional TV spots. For example, Kraft will offer 20 different cooking videos that will show such things as how to grill its Tombstone pizza, potato-salad basics, or how to create a cantaloupe-and-Jell-O dessert, while General Motors will offer detailed video presentations about its vehicles. Ford is trying something more entertaining: one-minute takes of magicians Penn & Teller performing various tricks on a golf course, with a Ford vehicle shown nearby. Participants are hopeful, but critics are skeptical of the new system potential. "It's hard enough for Hollywood to make a hit show and get people to watch it, so for advertisers to be able to do it is challenging," says Jason Kuperman, director of the interactive and entertainment practice at Tequila, part of Omnicom's TBWAWorldwide .

Read the whole story at Wall Street Journal »