TV Ads Remain Dominant Advertising Form

In exploring the possibility of using TV ads to promote your goods or services, the first step is to consult an advertising agency. Normally such an entity is responsible for the planning and production of TV ads and will be the most knowledgeable source for an informed discussion of television advertising rates.

Depending on budget and length of information you wish to convey, TV ads range in length from “spots” lasting just a few seconds to thirty minute “infomercials.” From the airing of the first commercial in 1941 (for which the advertiser paid the princely sum of $9) to the present, TV ads have become so important in making sales and disseminating information that it is now widely assumed the American political election process would not be able to move forward without the visibility such ads offer.

Because television advertising rates are so high, most commercials last only a few seconds. In that time, advertisers have found that to make their product or message “stick” with the viewers, catchy music or “jingles,” and a catch-phrase are essential.

The MacDonald’s fast food franchise, for instance, used a jingle in the 1980s still easily recognizable more than twenty-five years later by most Americans. “Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders don’t upset us, all we ask is that you let us serve it your way.”

Certain commercials characters became beloved cultural icons of their day. The Tidy Bowl Man, the mysterious Taster’s Choice Coffee couple and Mr. Whipple come to mind. The Mr. Whipple commercials, beyond having a popular character also had a famous catch-phrase, “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin.” And many Americans still remember with great fondness the famous Alka-Seltzer catch-phrase, “I can’t believe I ate that whole thing.” (More recent examples of highly successful commercials with popular themes would be the “where’s the beef” TV ads, the Taco Bell Chihuahua, and the Geico gecko.)

All of these televised advertising campaigns were so wildly successful they became part of the popular culture of the decades in which they appeared. Advertising agencies have become masterful in using the time given to them in these short commercial spots and make the most of it. Especially plum commercial spots, like those aired during the annual Super Bowl, are eagerly anticipated and rated by the public. Not only are these Super Bowl commercial spots wildly expensive (perhaps as much as $2.3 million) but the commercials themselves are crafted as if they were mini-motion pictures.

In recent years the advent of digital video recorders (DVRs) like the popular Tivo have called into question the future of TV ads. DVRs make it possible for viewers to pause, rewind, and fast forward through live television. Many DVR users have cultivated the habit of not beginning a program until fifteen minutes after the hour, rewinding to the beginning, and skipping all the commercials. However, while the future of televised advertising may be in question at this time, TV ads remain the dominant form of advertising in America.

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