Bringing Advertising Into The Show

ABC is looking backwards in an attempt to look forward.

This week, the network is looking at ways to blur the line between advertising and television programing. The hope is that by integrating advertising - or at least by finding new ways to integrate - they'll be able to command high prices from advertisers hoping to reap the rewards of having so many people watching their messages at the same time.

The problem, as any TiVo owner will shout, is that viewers don't watch television for the commercials, but for the program. As technology advances, the ability for the user to get just what they want from their hours on the couch means that commercials are losing viewers in huge numbers.

The solution, at least one of them, is to look back at the way television was when it first started: blatently commercial. Rather than have many sponsors for each individual show, you'd have the Texaco Star Theater where Milton Berle brought vaudeville to the masses. Whether this means that What About Jim will become an ongoing commercial for anti-depresents is unclear. More likely you'll see storylines that include products and companies, similar to the way that The Office and Staples have become so inseparable lately.

Of course, the question for advertisers is whether this is worthwhile. AdSymetrix is positioned to help answer that question. Signup with AdSymetrix and see how your ads are working. Why wait for ABC's meetings to end, sign up now, it's free.