When the Super Bowl was on, did you DVR it only to fast forward it and watch the commercials?

For some reason, everyone can’t wait to watch the Super Bowl commercials, but if you’re watching regular TV and there’s a commercial, what do you do?

If you have a DVR, you simply fast-forward it. No one wants to watch them.

The new ways people consume TV nowadays means newer methods of delivering ads.
In fact, Netflix Chief Product Officer, Neil Hunt, thinks the future of TV will be,

“Unbundling cable packages, more personalization of content and an end to TV commercials as we know them.”

Let’s look at how TV commercials are evolving.

And the Winner Is…

You’re at the edge of your seat.

American Idol is on and Ryan Seacrest is about to announce the winner. He slowly takes out the piece of paper holding the lucky name and guess what happens next?

Commercial.

No matter if you’re watching a singing competition, sporting event or a blockbuster film, we are forced to watch commercials. And forced commercials aren’t only on TV anymore.

YouTube videos and online streaming of your TV shows force you to sit and watch a commercial. And since more and more people are watching content online, digital advertising is becoming more necessary.

Forced commercials online are usually placed prior to a show starting, in the middle, or at the end. Each commercial typically lasts 15-30 seconds and sometimes the same commercial is repeated two or three times.

For advertisers, this setup is working. Video ads reach up to 11 billion people. And while people don’t like watching commercials, they understand it’s the price they pay for free online content. Also, commercials online are usually shorter, more infrequent and less disruptive.

The Long-form Ad

Some big brands are experimenting with using longer types of advertisement, a short brand film, to highlight their name and to get people talking.

For example, Nike’s Pixar-quality short film, “The Last Game,” has earned over 80 million YouTube views.

According to the Video Monetization Report, long-form ads have gone up 86%. Short films can create buzz or be viral online.

So, this is something viewers might notice more of – longer commercials that look more like mini-movies than an actual advertisement.

Product Placement

This isn’t anything new. You might see an actor drink a popular brand of soda during an intense scene of a movie. Similarly, reality shows often use product placement in strategic places – a branded cup for example.

Using product placement is becoming a central part in many television marketing strategies.
And since people don’t like commercials interrupting their TV programs, advertisers have to be more strategic.

So, by placing products like the iPhone, a Starbucks coffee or Colgate toothpaste, consumers don’t realize they are being marketed to.

It’s a win-win for networks relying on advertisement and for the viewer who gets a seamless TV experience.

Google Targeted Ads

Google is dishing out a new way of marketing commercials – personalized ads. For a selected audience, Google’s Fiber TV will start to display digitally delivered ads in real-time that are matched for:

• Geography
• The type of show being viewed (e.g. sports, action movie)
• Viewing history

Google is known for targeting their ads online – using their extensive algorithms to tailor the ads based on your search terms and online activity.

Now, they are breaking into the television commercial sphere. So, instead of having to sit through a life insurance commercial when you’re only a 20-year-old woman –with Google targeting ads, you’ll more likely sit through a shampoo commercial.

Are Commercials Dated?

Commercials as we know it are changing. With the popularity of binge watching, online streaming and DVR, commercials as we know them might soon be coming to an end.

But, in the interim, let’s play homage to some of the best commercials out there:

Over to you – how have you seen commercials change?