Television advertising is going to undergo some massive changes in the next few years. New ad formats, especially online, coupled with changing viewer habits will force advertisers to rethink the effectiveness of the existing 30-second spot format. Obviously television ads won't cease completely (advertising only enters media, it doesn't leave) so here's my prediction as to how it will evolve.
Programs will be bought in whole by a single advertiser, most likely as part of a product placement deal. That means an episode of The Apprentice will not only feature Best Buy within the show but Best Buy will also be the exclusive sponsor of that episode. This will lead to fewer, but longer, commericals around the show. Hour-long dramas may be sold in 15-minute chunks with one company buying one five-minute long ad block within that quarter hour. That being said TV will account for less and less of an ad budget since decreasing audience share means networks don't have as much leverage.
Any other guesses?
1. Back to the future: you're describing the golden age of radio programming, wherein a program was completely sponsored by one or two companies. It was effective enough that, even today, people who are fans of OTR remember (and listen for) the ads as much as the programming. My daughter is still trying to find out whatever happened to Roma Wines, long time sponsor of Suspense. And for those who complain about product placement in the programs, go back to "Fibber McGee and Molly," in which the ads were inserted into the storyline, to great effect.
Posted at 7:38PM on Jun 20th 2005 by Robert Floyd