Commentary

The Sell: Thick as a Brick

The Sell: Thick as a Brick-Andrew EttingerPeople don't watch television the way they used to. Years ago (in fact, many more years ago than some media buyers would care to admit), people watched in a linear fashion. They turned on the TV set, sat down and watched a full program from start to finish without interruption. Well, maybe an occasional bathroom break was the exception. This is no longer the case. People still go to the bathroom, but they also do a lot of other things. The switch to C3 ad ratings is a belated admission of this fact.

We all acknowledge that people watch television in a multitude of ways, few of which are in any way linear. If the remote control didn't kill linear viewing, then certainly the DVR did. Think of the options: channel surfing during breaks, multi-tasking on the computer, reading Ulysses, fast-forwarding the ads altogether or even going online to watch missed segments. Still, commercials continue to be developed with a linear mindset.

Car companies are a good example. They rely heavily on old-fashioned, 30-second commercials. They front-load the spots with imagery and save the last few seconds for a direct brand sell. Sometimes, they even leave out the last part. We have all seen disjointed auto commercials with cars zigzagging on slick country roads. The ads all seem cut from the same cloth. The imagery, tonality and structure are the same. Even the cars today look alike. Most of the time, I cannot distinguish between a Toyota Highlander and a Lexus RX. I am left guessing at what I just saw. Blink and you miss the big reveal in the last 10 seconds.

Nielsen counts a viewer toward an ad's audience if they watch the commercial for at least one second. That means someone can be counted as having seen the commercial without actually seeing most of the commercial. If that is the case, then the commercial did not really achieve its purpose. The implications of this are clear: We can't rely on a big payoff at the end of 30 seconds.

Ten seconds is a long time; in fact, it's long enough to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Go ahead and try it. With 30 seconds, I imagine, you could probably recite the Declaration of Independence. Couple that idea with the demise of linear viewing and you have a vastly different take on the modern TV commercial. Since we cannot rely on complete commercial viewing, it does not make sense to build ads with one big payoff at the very end. Our commercials need to make better use of the time we spend with consumers. Yet the majority of commercials remain linear in nature. This is yet another example of the media-creative gap.

There are many subtle ways to keep selling throughout a commercial. For example, we can strategically use translucent brand logos. As the consumer watches the ad, the brand logo exists throughout the video. The TV networks use this to great effect during programs, too. Similarly, the brand's Web site can be displayed. The idea is to keep the brand on the screen for as long as possible. I am sure the art directors reading this are howling with laughter. I admit it: I approach advertising from a hit them over the head with the message ideology.

Creative does not exist in a vacuum; therefore, it must be synergistic with its placement. If we cannot count on people seeing the whole ad, then we need to rethink our approach to creative development. Perhaps we can take a clue from one online best-practice in particular. Online, each frame of a banner ad should be able to stand on its own. Attention spans online make TV attention spans seem like glacial epochs. Therefore, each component of a successful online ad needs to convey a clear message independent of the other parts. Hitting viewers over the head with a message might be the only way to break through.

I work in advertising, and half the time I have no idea what commercials are trying to say. There is nothing wrong with simple, clear messages that sell. I don't believe the 30 has gone the way of the dodo; people will pay attention if they are engaged. Humor and mystery are primal storytelling devices, but they have trouble competing with exponentially increasing distractions. Regardless of how compelling a commercial's story line is, viewers are increasingly distracted and less attentive. We must take this into account when creating ads and purchasing media space.
1 comment about "The Sell: Thick as a Brick".
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  1. John Grono from GAP Research, December 24, 2008 at 8:51 a.m.

    While I am not sure what People Meters Nielsen are currently using in he US, I think you will find that Nielsen (and no other TV ratings currency in the world that I know of) "count a viewer to an ad's audience if they watch the commercial for at least one second." While the meter may 'poll' at the second level, a "rule of dominance" is used generally at the 30-second or 60-second level. That is, the data is "rolled-up" into 1,440 minutes a day and the channel that received the most 'polls' in each minute is ascribed the viewing for that minute. This is done because of latency between broadcasts, drift in the clocks in the meters and so on. To operate at the second-by-second level assumes nationwide exact synchronisation, which in my experience just doesn't happen, and users end up reading things in to the data that simply aren't true.

    John Grono
    GAP Research
    Sydney Australia

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