• by Mitch Oscar , Op-Ed Contributor, September 11, 2007

The Gordian Knot is a legend associated with Alexander the Great. It was prophesied by the Phrygian oracle that whoever was able to untie the “knot” would become the king of Asia. In 333 BC, wintering at Gordium, Alexander the Great attempted to untie the knot. When he could find no end to the knot, to unbind it, he sliced it in half with a stroke of his sword, producing the required ends (the so-called Alexandrian Solution) and fulfilling the prophecy by conquering known Asia.

Since the late winter there has been a push by the major broadcast and cable networks to come up with solutions to unravel the commercial conundrum: TV viewers don’t like to watch commercials, or at least not non-engaging ones, will do anything to avoid them -- and yet they must be sustained to provide the fuel by which the free TV industry is powered, $70 billion worth.

Some theoretical attempts at unraveling the knot:

Turner Broadcasting. As a ploy to keep viewers clued to its  channels during commercials breaks, Turner Broadcasting is introducing “bitcoms,” which the company define as comedy shorts that lead into commercial breaks.

NBC. NBC has introduced live commercials during its late night show, “The Tonight Show.” The first advertiser going live was Garmin International, a satellite navigational device. The skit airs immediately before the show goes to a commercial break. There, the message will be reinforced with a taped spot for Garmin taking the first spot in the break.

CW. This upfront CW is adding some commercial variations to its line-up: 1) the half-hour magazine news show “CW Now” will not have any scheduled ads, but rather will weave product placement or product integrated deals into the show; 2) 5-second spots referred to as “cwickies” will be sprinkled through one particular night a week -- the ads will appear in the first position of their respective commercial breaks; and 3) Content Wraps, in which advertiser’s products are woven into short 2- and 3-minute video clips.

Fox.The Fox network has unveiled an initiative to entice viewers to keep watching during commercials: mini programs that appear during commercial breaks. The first offering: an animated short about a taxi driver known as Oleg during ad breaks, in which the new character offers up his own brand of wisdom and chats with spoof celebrities.

MTV. MTV will launch “sponsor-branded clips segments” as part of its Thursday night line-up. How it works: MTV will showcase one advertiser a week in hosted segments that will be woven between programming and commercials.

ABC. At the ABC program development meetings in Los Angeles, ABC provided examples of how the network intends to integrate commercials into programs in the future: a “pop up” on props like TV sets and magazines on the set that would then go to full screen.

Hakuhodo DY Media Partners. Japanese ad agency Hakuhodo created context-linked commercials that continue the narrative of a show, with the same actors and storyline but promoting a product.

Somehow these aforementioned examples seem like the emperor’s new clothes or the latest approach to commercial haberdashery, ones that the TV viewer will see through, activate the remote control or just disengage.

Maybe we should take Alexander’s approach. If the traditional tactic of trying to fool the TV viewer into engaging with a marketer’s message is not working, then maybe we should deploy the sword or technology in today’s parlance. Interactive TV applications hold the promise of engaging those consumers to whom the message is most relevant. Opting in through telescoping features, requests for interaction, microsites, long-form video, addressability, dynamic ad insertion and blind matching these applications with datamining (lifestyle) and subscriber television viewing usage could solve the riddle to gain the kingdom.  

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