Skip the shows, watch the commercials

Advertising on demand. It's an idea whose time has come.

Tivo today has announced today the release of Product Watch. This new capability will allow users to select favorite categories or brands and TiVo will deliver ads that match the criteria to their main menu.

I think Dwight is right: This idea comes close to being something potentially cool, but just misses.

TiVo should work with advertisers to tag each commercial so they can be individually identified. Then, The Canadian -- and hey, maybe even me, too -- could tell TiVo to record ads when they are aired and save them for later, just as it does with TV programming.

Want to see the Apple vs. PC guy ads? Tell TiVo you want 'em and they'll be waiting for you. Not expanded, long-form versions, but rather the ads everyone else has to wait around to see.

Imagine snagging all the Super Bowl ads in one sitting, without having to watch a boring, overhyped football game! Budweiser ads, but no pompous announcers, blind referees and overpaid, steroid-laced athletes! The mind simply reels . . .

In other words, make requesting and recording specific ads, or classes of ads, be like requesting and recording TV shows. I know I hear about certain ads - ones that are cool, provocative, titillating, or just so dumb they have to be seen to be believed - that I'd like to see for myself, but it's a random thing whether or not I'll ever come across it in my regular surfing. This would simplify matters considerably.

And yes, I know, one can often find these ads on the web somewhere. Sorry, but my TV screen is much bigger, websites are sometimes down due to overload or copyright reasons, and sometimes they just don't display properly in whatever video viewer you happen to have installed. This is an alternative I'd prefer if it were available.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on May 14, 2006 to TV and movies | TrackBack