Study finds some ads work in fast-forward

Pretty soon, you might start noticing big fat logos popping up front and center in just about every TV ad. And you'll have two Boston College professors to thank. In a recent study of television viewers, Professors S. Adam Brasel and James Gips found that people actually noticed and remembered some advertising messages while fast-forwarding through commercial breaks on DVRs. The catch? They only noticed branding that appeared in the center of the screen. "In the age of DVRs," Brasel says, "advertisers who place their brands anywhere outside the center of the viewing screen do so at their own brand peril." Of course, DVRs are still only used by about 30 percent of TV viewers, which means 70 percent of the audience—and 100 percent of advertising creatives—are going to have to suffer through a deluge of ads featuring the Taco Bell logo dead-center for a painfully long 30 seconds.

—Posted by David Griner

November 4, 2008 in DVRs, Griner | Permalink