Television commercials: Do they work.
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Jawa Ex Machina
Veteran
I don't know. I honestly stopped watching television completely years ago. Don't even channel surf. Don't even have it connected, actually. The few shows I like I either watch online or buy on DVD or both.
j
Veteran
For me, yes.
For agencies and advertisers... who knows. One thing is certain the landscape is changing. Some are betting the farm on internet delivery:
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-12-streaming-cable-years-netflix.html
But at some point you will get saturation. I have "fast" internet and for me it still doesn't work good enough. I think no matter what the delivery there will always be commercials, even if it's preroll.
For agencies and advertisers... who knows. One thing is certain the landscape is changing. Some are betting the farm on internet delivery:
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-12-streaming-cable-years-netflix.html
But at some point you will get saturation. I have "fast" internet and for me it still doesn't work good enough. I think no matter what the delivery there will always be commercials, even if it's preroll.
Jawa Ex Machina
Veteran
For me it wasn't even the commercials that did it. I don't mind them, I just tune out or change the channel.
It was the content, or actually the lack of it. It's all reality TV and talk shows, and the movie channels showed the films in such bad quality it just ruined the experience for me.
Jordan Scott Price
Veteran
I absolutely cannot stand commercials. I have no desire to turn on the TV and watch something I do not intend to watch. That's silly. That's like getting in your car and driving to the store when you actually want to go to the bank. Why? The TV should entertain me, not subject me to content I do not willfully want to watch. Therefore, all of the shows I actually care to see - a handful of series I really like - are on DVR, and I fast-forward through the commercials.
So, I guess TV commercials do not work on me because I simply don't watch them.
The ONLY commercials I actually enjoy are trailers for films I want to see and super-expensive, high-budget commercials that indulge me as a cinematographer, not as a consumer. I'm talking about some of the more complex, process car commercials, etc. But even then I am more likely to fast-forward to get to what I sat down to watch in the first place.
If there's a show on live TV (i.e., not DVR), I'll often pause it for a good 20 minutes, leave, and then come back, so now I can fast-forward through the commercials, even though it's technically live and not recorded.
To be honest, DVXUser advertisements have had the greatest effect on me over the time I've been a member here. Redrock, SmallHD, Cinevate, and Zacuto can all link some of their purchases back to the banners on this website, and that's thousands of dollars...
So, I guess TV commercials do not work on me because I simply don't watch them.
The ONLY commercials I actually enjoy are trailers for films I want to see and super-expensive, high-budget commercials that indulge me as a cinematographer, not as a consumer. I'm talking about some of the more complex, process car commercials, etc. But even then I am more likely to fast-forward to get to what I sat down to watch in the first place.
If there's a show on live TV (i.e., not DVR), I'll often pause it for a good 20 minutes, leave, and then come back, so now I can fast-forward through the commercials, even though it's technically live and not recorded.
To be honest, DVXUser advertisements have had the greatest effect on me over the time I've been a member here. Redrock, SmallHD, Cinevate, and Zacuto can all link some of their purchases back to the banners on this website, and that's thousands of dollars...
swopiv
Active member
A wise man once told me "The naive among us believe that television consists of shows with advertisements fitted in the gaps between. Those of us with wisdom understand the reverse to be true".
On a separate note, the biggest dumb thing that bugs me about adverts is the huge volume increase that you get on some channels. You're happily watching a programme, and it cuts to the ads. Suddenly your room is filled with blaring music and VO. Whoa! Where did that come from? I think some bright spark has come up with this idea to grab our attention with the increased volume, and with a slight increase it might work. However, the huge increase in volume you actually get just sends me scrambling for the 'mute' button.
D.
On a separate note, the biggest dumb thing that bugs me about adverts is the huge volume increase that you get on some channels. You're happily watching a programme, and it cuts to the ads. Suddenly your room is filled with blaring music and VO. Whoa! Where did that come from? I think some bright spark has come up with this idea to grab our attention with the increased volume, and with a slight increase it might work. However, the huge increase in volume you actually get just sends me scrambling for the 'mute' button.
D.
Jordan Scott Price
Veteran
Truth.
For me, it's usually the POWER button. I can't stand being attacked by bad audio mixing in my own home.
j
Veteran
> I think some bright spark has come up with this idea to grab our attention with the increased volume,
They actually just made a law against that here:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/13/us/fcc-loud-commercials/index.html
Which is just INSANE as far as I'm concerned. Because OMG thank gawd the government is there to protect me in case my thumb is too slow or too lazy to move across the remote in time to hit the mute button...
They actually just made a law against that here:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/13/us/fcc-loud-commercials/index.html
Which is just INSANE as far as I'm concerned. Because OMG thank gawd the government is there to protect me in case my thumb is too slow or too lazy to move across the remote in time to hit the mute button...
HorseFilms
Look ma no hands
Commercials alert me to new products, but it's the product itself that determines if I buy. I can be a bit of a cheap ass.
Alpha Beta Omega
Veteran
I watch 99% commercial-free television but even that has product placement so I still will be exposed to products and brands. I can't even go outside without avoiding billboards and such. There's no escape!
I agree. Commercials create brand awareness. However, it doesn't necessarily makes me want to buy said product. But the fact that it makes it "exist" to me is testament of its power as an advertising tool.
swopiv
Active member
Ok, so ads are tedious for us all, but there are positives. Much of the programming we do enjoy, including almost all of professional online content you might consume relies on advertising as a major revenue stream, the major revenue stream. As for whether they work: while they may not make you rush out and buy the product, they will create brand awareness, so the next time you're shopping for that sort of product you may reach for the heavily advertised one because 'I know that one'. Its the same with film trailers. For the casual moviegoer, they are likely to go and see a film they have heard about, most likely from a trailer.
mjmcneese
Veteran
I concur.
I watch commercials, but I am really only looking AT them. The aesthetics, the shots, the music, the concept. Regional spots are fascinating to me...most of us here could pick out that cliche'd DSLR-shot spot with a lack of color grading from a mile away, featuring local talent and a mediocre concept. But, every once in a while, you see one that works...good technicals or not.
Very few commercials have directly motivated me to make or change a purchasing decision. The ones that affect me the most are commercials that advertise NEW offerings, or new locations.
The fact that television advertising exists is testament enough to the fact that advertising does work. Organizations are marketing on TV, and their research is finding that their audience is responding enough to justify the cost. So, yes, I FEEL that it works, and I think there is proof that it does work.
Eric Boellner
Well-known member
I really don't have a problem with commercials. I get irritated with the ads on YouTube, but that's because I use YT to put on a good song or something, turn up the volume high and then have this commercial blasting in my ears. <grin>
But for things like Hulu and broadcast/cable TV, I'll sit through the commercials because I know how it works on the other end. Without commercials, you'd have almost no television. I don't get how people can complain about commercials when they're watching a show for free. I don't even mind the commercial breaks on Hulu Plus. Licensing fees aren't cheap and Hulu has a right to make a profit for bringing me The Office, Parks & Rec and New Girl with the occasional Daily Show or SNL episode.
-JMT
But for things like Hulu and broadcast/cable TV, I'll sit through the commercials because I know how it works on the other end. Without commercials, you'd have almost no television. I don't get how people can complain about commercials when they're watching a show for free. I don't even mind the commercial breaks on Hulu Plus. Licensing fees aren't cheap and Hulu has a right to make a profit for bringing me The Office, Parks & Rec and New Girl with the occasional Daily Show or SNL episode.
-JMT
Eric Boellner
Well-known member
That said, no I don't buy things I see in commercials.
Bruce Watson
Veteran
This is, I think, the wrong question. What adverts are for is to steer you toward a certain brand when you decide to buy a given product. Say beer. There have been some interesting studies that show that the commercial beers that own large shares of the market look and taste pretty much the same. The biggest difference between them is branding. And what the adverts are for is to connect you to a certain brand.
Adverts work best if you don't really notice them. It's just for when you are standing in the store at the beer aisle, you decide to pick one brand over the others. Was that choice you made influenced by advertising? Most people will swear that it's not -- and they're wrong.
Advertising won't make you buy something you don't want. But it will influence you to pick one brand over another for a product that you've already decided to buy.
Think about it -- would companies spend billions of dollars on things like advertising if it didn't work? Something to think about the next time you buy toothpaste, tomato sauce, a pain reliever, or laundry detergent. Just ask yourself -- why am I buying *this* brand? If you don't have a good answer -- well, now you know. It's because advertising works. On you. Just like it does on everyone else.
Jordan Scott Price
Veteran
Because I bought the TV and pay for the cable service.
I expect advertisements from an online service because it's online and I can watch their programs at my leisure. I even understand commercials on YouTube completely, and I'm far less annoyed by a commercial between YouTube videos because 1) it tells you how long it will last; 2) they're often well-designed, not the local SD commercials I see on TV, with some lawyer talking at me; 3) while I pay for the internet, watching something for entertainment is not the sole reason I own a computer or have internet service - in contrast, the television is SOLELY meant to entertain me. That's why I have one.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not an idiot; I totally understand why commercials have to exist, else there would be no point to owning a TV outside of renting DVD's and watching home movies. The fact that I have no control over them inside my own home is what frustrates me to no end. In a public place, you are subject to anything and everything. There is no reasonable expectation of privacy. In my home, however, I expect some control over what I am exposed to.
