- Saturday, 28 November 2009
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All Douglas Hayward stories in the Financial Times eventually come true - Hewlett Packard
ITV tests digital product placement
TELEVISION VIEWERS get your indignation at the ready as this one's going to make you want to complain until you’re blue in the face – ITV is bringing out adverts that you can’t fast forward.
That’s right... just as the UK is beginning to enjoy the luxury of fast-forwarding through that irritating woman falling on the wet floor for compensation for the millionth time, ITV decides to embed adverts directly into programmes making them unavoidable.
Have you had an accident in the last six months?
If you’re not yet annoyed, wait until you hear how this is going to work – not only are adverts possibly the most annoying thing ever thought up, they’re now going to appear while you’re actually in the middle of a programme.
This does not mean the usual break for a cup of tea. Oh no, this means that whenever there is a place for an advert, say a blank wall, or an expanse of blue sky, ITV is going to slap a product logo or a message there.
So you can all look forward to seeing Pot Noodle ads on the wall of Windsor Castle during your favourite historical drama, or tampon sales messages floating through the sky in the middle of Emmerdale. Nice!
This will not only ruin the viewing experience for the majority, but for all those who think that Corrie is actually real – this will literally crush their world.
The technology was developed by Californian company Keystream and is currently being tested in the news footage on the ITV local website – can you imagine listening to a serious news story and then seeing yet another constipation treatment logo pop up?
If this idea is well received (we suggest pitchforks and flaming torches would be suitable) and the regulations permit it, then it will move onto our screens at home.
"There’s a lot of potential. If there’s a scene in a programme where there's time, then it could give us a chance to get an ad away. But obviously on television you won’t be seeing one of these appearing at a crunch point in a drama,” says Simon Fell, head of future technology at ITV.
Advertisers are getting understandably annoyed with viewers no longer paying attention to them as they skip through the ad break – yet this is really not the way forward.
The US broadcasters have introduced a technique known affectionately as 'speed bump' so that viewers who fast-forward still see their branding.
Colin Macleod, at the World Advertising Research Centre, an independent advisory body said, “Anything that (advertisers) are able to use to attract viewers’ attention they will welcome, but as long as viewers feel comfortable about it. This potentially could cause some friction between broadcaster and consumer.”
He’s not wrong, viewers will certainly not welcome this idea open armed - ITV may also face opposition from television regulators as neither Ofcom nor the Advertising Standards Authority was able to comment yesterday on how the new technology would fit within current broadcasting regulations.
So, what’s next for the viewer? Will we be strapped down facing the TV with our eyes pinned open with tooth picks?µ
L'Inq
The Times
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A little context would be nice. There used to be a commercial TV channel called ITV, but didn't it die because it treated the audience as idiots so the audience found something else to watch? :-)

If ITV wants people to watch adverts SHOW BETTER ADVERTS. If ITV wants to increase the audience size SHOW BETTER PROGRAMS.

There seems to be a theme developing there...
...still have the nerve to whinge about the BBC licence fee.
Just don't buy, or please return any product that forces this limitation on you. Trust me. They will change it back to the normal commercial model if you just avoid these products.
I think I can hear the thunder of a thousand lawyers in the distance...

Can you imagine how this is going to work... Mr Hollywood director is going to go mental at the idea of his master work space saga having KFC logos floating below the enemy fleet...

Coke will go orbital after paying a fortune for some subtle product placement, only to have the setting sun turned into a sinking Pepsi Max swirl!

And then of course there are us viewers, who are just being treated as sheep and spoon-fed whatever garbage they think they can get away with (just look at late night TV, premium rate quiz lines and home shopping of overpriced and out of date produce).

I did once watch a home shopping channel for about 15 minutes, it was a technology day, so I combined my viewing with google, and sat there aghast at the prices they were asking for old model bits of tat that were at least 50% cheaper on amazon.

Welcome to the brave new world.

Go buy a book.
"not only are adverts possibly the most annoying thing ever thought up."

So why are there ads plastered all over the Inquirer? The big one at the top makes the site look crap.


ya got the right graphic inqu, the difference being roddy had no choice in the matter, but ive videed what i have to do, turn the $hite orft, jeeeeeeeeeez dont ITV realise theyre in enough bother with fallin ad revenues, if they think this crap is gonna improve their lot, theyre in for a rude awakening, dumb furkers !!!

if ya remember, they had to de-condition our friend the clockwork orange in the end to maintain the status quo, its just as bad as subliminal advertising which was outlawed in the UK O_o

its just another nail in the 'live TV' coffin thats all, no more no less, this orange for one aint gonna take it lightly, just last week i told the BBC licensing folks to stick their licence where the sun dont shine cos of their heavy handed tactics (google noel edmunds + tv licence) its all just, 'graspin at straws' :o)
What's that on the horizon? Ah yes, the backlash of the viewing public.

Given that 90% of everything on ITV is absolute drivel, I can see they might make more money this way. However, if this is implemented as badly as I anticipate then the 5-10% of my viewing time devoted to ITV programming with quickly move to 0%.
Most adverts are so moronic that you can aborb the pitch even at fast forward speed. You just don't need to keep repeating the same message slowly and tediously over and over and over and over.

Good adverts, OTOH, get the back up, slo-mo and repeat treatment.

In the US we get adverts pitched on the screen during a program, especially if its a widescreen movie (all that blank space to play with....). I thought you lot were lucky in that the ads had to be confined to a 'natural break' and the number of such breaks were limited.
I appreciate that commercial TV needs advertising revenue to survive. Commercial breaks in programmes, especially drama for instance are bad enough, but product advertising in programmes is a step too far. The moment that ITV starts that mallarky will be the time when I stop watching ITV channels altogether. Actually, thinking about it I hardly watch ITV channels at all no - no real overall change then.
I wonder how much a channel like CH4 or ITV would cost monthly if they offered it without any adverts whatsoever?

Virgin Media and Sky could offer for a fee advert free television.

OK, I can see a lot of reasons why they wouldn't. Take the ads out and you've got more programme space to fill for one and you'd have to edit out all those stupid time wasting repeat sequences they put in to keep the new viewer up to date. A 60 min programme may only be 30mins long! :-)

I now have a new form of evening entertainment: counting the number of products mentioned in Coronation Street.
One episode tonight had Ford Focus & Fruit & Nut (twice) & I wasn't even really paying attention. A few days ago it was magazine titles.
Strange as the govenment said they wouldn't allow product placement.
I expect they have found a way to tax it.