[mythtv-users] plugin idea: MythNielsen

[Brian Wood]

On May 8, 2006, at 10:01 AM, Robert Johnston wrote:

> On 5/8/06, Brad Fuller <bradallenfuller at yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Brian Wood wrote:
>> true. But, if there was some way to log users' realtime usage  
>> (like how
>> users scan thru commercials, what they stop, and backup, to view), it
>> might be helpful to advertisers. And, it might be even more  
>> helpful if
>> they had profiles of the particular users to match these realtime  
>> habits.
>>
>> Let's face it, we aren't necessarily against advertising. We just  
>> don't
>> want ads to get in the way of viewing programs. We may be  
>> interested in
>> ads that are matched to our interests. So if there was a win-win
>> situation, everyone could be happy. ok, ok... there are some  
>> people that
>> are never happy ;-)
>
> I don't like most ads, however some of the very well done ones (Like
> the Honda ads, or VW's "UnPimp your ride", even the Capital One
> Vikings) are quite amusing, and I do tend to watch those. If it wasn't
> that ads are played again and again and again and again and again
> which kind of kills their "watchability".

Quite true, *some* ads are in fact worth watching (and sometimes  
better than the program). One problem, though, is I often tend to  
remember the ad but forget what the product was, so does that make it  
a "bad" ad ?

Also, it seems that way back when, an advertiser would have a series  
of ads, usually from 3 to 5 or more, and they would be rotated so you  
wouldn't, for example, see the same one more than once during a  
program. Now it seems as though they will make *one*, and repeat it  
endlessly until you are totally sick of it, no matter how good it was  
to start with.

I realize there is a cost factor involved in making multiple ads, but  
these guys need to realize that over-airing the same one will  
actually have a negative effect in many cases. Can't they jyst spend  
a little less per ad and make more of them ?

In fact they do actually make more than one, but not in the way they  
used to. If you travel around the country, or happen to work in the  
business, you will see the "Urban, White", "Urban, Black", "Urban,  
Hispanic", "Midwest, White" and other targeted versions of the same ad.

An example is the "Happy Honda Days" one that runs during the  
December Holidays. It has multiple versions that vary only in the  
ethnicity of the actors.

Such blatant catering to political correctness and ethnic targets is  
disgusting, and squeezes out any real "art" in the productions.


> Personally, I think if ads were better (Like the ones above), they'd
> be more watchable, and less objectionable.

Advertisers shouldn't, as a class, be any stupider than most people.  
They *should* realize that better ads work better, but yet with  
almost unlimited budgets they continue to create crap. Do you suppose  
that some sort of research shows that crap actually works better ?

What is the actual correlation between enjoying the ad and buying the  
product ? I don't know but it seems like somebody ought to.