August 24, 2008
Ads' 30 seconds of fame under threat
The traditional 30-second television advertisement is under threat as viewers use new technology to skip ads and companies increasingly turn to product placement to spruik their brands. The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
"Australia is the world's third-largest paid product-placement market after the US and Brazil and advertisers are expected to spend almost $280 million on product placement in Australian television programming this year, custom media research firm PQ Media says.
... "It's getting harder and harder to connect with people," said Todd Sampson, a panellist on The Gruen Transfer and chief executive of ad agency Leo Burnett.
Weaving a product into the entertainment - as opposed to breaking up the entertainment, which is what ads tend to do - is a smart strategy."
... Shows such as Desperate Housewives reap millions of dollars from product-placement deals. Buick paid $1 million for its vehicle to be prominently featured as part of a story in which Eva Longoria Parker's character promoted the car in a shopping centre.
In Weeds Mary-Louise Parker's character trades her Range Rover for a Prius to be "environmentally responsible" despite her son deriding the car as being "crappy and small".
Companies are increasingly aware that a 30-second ad break is no longer the effective tool it once was, particularly with the young who are technologically savvy enough to dodge ads.
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