commercial break sucks, right?

who likes commercials?
They are everywhere one might look; On TV, on billboards, on the traffic etc. This has resulted in that people are prepared to pay for avoiding commercials which is the reason Tivo:s has become popular. Most people will as a result of this assume that no one likes commercials and to have a TV commercial is a waste of money.

I am doubtful about this. I believe that it is not the commercial that is the problem, the problem is where they are seen and when. Many will be annoyed when their favorite show breaks just before the big ending for commercials. But is it the commercial we dislike?

I earlier made a video for one of my experiments that has now reached more than 102 000 views. The videos name is the 5 best banned commercials. This clearly gives a signal to the viewer that it is about commercials and yet it became viral.  The video has not only been shared but also heavily commented and liked. This wouldn’t make sense if people disliked commercials.

This is the time of the super bowl. The commercials shown during this event are popular almost before they are aired and it is an attractive position to advertise in. So how come that these commercials works when other commercials on TV won’t trigger the viewer?

Don’t take me wrong on this, there are commercials out there that  are just plain and simple bad. But there are also some that are “pure gold”. It all comes down to content and what triggers the viewer.

In the old days a one way communication tool such as the tv worked fine. When the commercial break came the viewer were a prisoner that couldn’t do anything about these interruptions in their shows as there were a limit in the amount of channels a TV had. To advertise in a magazine used to be a great tool as well as the reader would put much faith in what was written in the magazine. After all, if it’s in the magazine it most be true.

We now live in the world of internet, TIVO and millions of ways to see what we want to see when we want to see it. Also due to social medias such as Facebook and YouTube we are more on the same level as a company than ever before. To simply push a message upon the viewer will not work as they will simply ignore the message or turn away from it. Because of this more and more companies understands that an organisation most dare to talk with the consumer in a 2 way communication. By doing this knowledge about how and when a viewer want to see a commercial could be revealed. Also information regarding what kind of commercial the consumer wants to see can be detected.

I don’t believe there is a secret ingredient for making a viral video or a commercial that the consumer likes. However I do believe that it comes down to all the ingredients. Where, When, how and what kind of commercial that is published will strongly affect the results.
If companies dare to let the consumers in and let them comment on their messages then they will receive both positive and potently negative feedback that can later turn into a dialogue that makes organisations better on reaching their target group.

In the video that became viral I did minimum amount of promotion. I let the content speak for itself and soon enough it found the right people who shared it. I reached more than 100 000 people in a few months, consider what the numbers could be if I had done more promotion for the video.
If more organisations listen on the consumers, then soon  we will hopefully get the commercials when we want it and when we search for it.

Cheers
89Perra