The famous "red button" of interactive TV that allows you to interact with a commercial is finding it's way to adverting agencies in Belgium. But there is one thing that gets on my nerves. Although the medium is very new, the oldfashioned thinking and lack of respect for the people watching TV is striking. Let me explain ...
Interactive TV spots have to be scheduled at the END of a commercial block. Logic: If somebody decides to interact with the commercial, they would miss the rest of the adds and other advertisers would not appreciate that.
Now, people with a lot of experience in traditional advertising told me I shouldn't worry. In fact, the first adds in a block are apparently also not the best choice. Reason is that very few people see these adds as this is the time when everybody runs of to get a drink (or get rid of drink what they drunk). Not a big surprise, but interresting to hear this is commonly accepted in the traditional media industry.
So, voluntarily interacting with a good commercial (let's assume) rather then sitting through 3 more boring tooth paste commercials is not allowed by the media moguls, but missing the second part of your favourite TV show is not an issue. Sigh! Conclusion: these people are making TV for the advertisers, not for the consumers. Talking about disrespecting your audience.
I bet you the next research that's published on interactive TV will say that these new advertising ideas (you know, inviting people to interact with brand) are not a big succes.
