Etc.tv evidence of ad industry delusions
If I told you there was a service that allowed you to opt-in for more and longer television ads, would you assume that I was simply experimenting with mind-altering drugs, or that dogs and cats must surely be living in harmony?
This is precisely the service that is being offered by etc.tv.
The system “leverages the video on demand (VOD) infrastructure of digital cable, allowing viewsers (viewer-users) to link from thirty second commercials seen on a broadcast network directly to long form Television ads, on demand.”
Rarely does one come across an idea that is seemingly completely disconnected from reality. In order for this to work, the following must be true:
1) people watch 30-second ads,
2) people enjoy watching 30-second ads and
3) people want to watch additional, longer ads.
Etc.tv even allows “viewsers” (shudder) to bookmark the VOD commercials to watch again.
Egads.
Several things appear to be missing from this formula.
Firstly, as VOD is more widely adopted, there will be no more interstitial advertising, and if there is, the ads can (and will) be fast-forwarded.
So let’s take that out of the equation for the moment. I do believe there is a place for extended advertising. Some examples that come to mind are infomercials, digital signage in stores and even websites fall into this category. If I see a commercial for a car I like, I got to the website for additional information. If I visit a hardware store, I might encounter a digital screen with rich media describing an adjacent product. (This actually happened to me the other day, and it scared the shit out me – “New Media Etiquette” issues…)
The difference in these examples (except the Ron Popeil “set it and forget it” infomercial) is interactivity.
Without interactivity, the commercial is just the same annoying push media that we have been tolerating and unable to avoid for years.
Etc.tv may intend to include interactive functionality in their platform, but their website does not mention it, and it is still the responsibility of the ad agency to create interactive content for this proprietary content. Most websites still suck. They should work on that first.
The other whopper of a function, and what I believe will a new media killer application, is cross-platform demographic and preference data access. If my PVR knows I am a Mac geek, knows I like heavy metal, and knows my movie preferences, then it can show me what I would actually buy and enjoy learning about. My phone knows where I am, what I like to eat. I can pay for things with it, it learns about me. My toys are up-selling me, and I love it!
Never again should I have to suffer through a Ford F-350 Supertruck or Purple Pill ad.
Yet again, there is no mention of demographic or customized content from etc.tv. Just more force-feeding as if I was consumer foie gras.
I will continue to describe my Utopian society in the coming days and weeks.
In the mean time, I am going to sit back and watch the commercials I taped today.
