Fixing the commercial Break

Fixing the commercial Break

TO many people, the commercial break is when you use the restroom, change the channel or grab a snack.

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But television networks, under pressure from advertisers who want their commercials to be seen, are trying to change that.

Fixing the commercial break is the most pressing topic of discussion this spring between networks and advertisers as they negotiate television ad sales deals for the next year. Last week, the five broadcast networks presented their television offerings for the fall season at the annual sales presentations called the upfronts. Clearly, the pressure to keep viewers tuned in is greater because of the rising number of digital video recorders, which allow people to fast-forward commercials.

At the end of May, the Nielsen Company, whose ratings determine how much advertisers pay to buy television time, will begin to release ratings of how many people watch commercials, on average, during each program. Those figures will allow advertisers to understand which show’s audiences are most likely to desert during breaks.

All the networks say they are experimenting with ways to hold viewers’ attention during commercials, but Viacom, the media conglomerate that owns cable networks like MTV, VH1, Comedy Central and Spike, is describing more specifics than most. Viacom says it has come up with several formats that could help keep people tuned in, and its creative teams have been involved in some of the production.

The changes include creating a single commercial that lasts for an entire break, integrating stars from programs into the ads and developing storylines that run through the ads. MTV and VH1 have recently decided to change from two commercial breaks each half-hour to three, so that each one can be shorter.

Viacom executives said that their networks’ youthful audiences have made it acutely important for them to innovate.

“They’re younger, they’re more quickly engaged and more quickly dismissive if they’re not engaged,” Judy McGrath, chairman and chief executive of MTV Networks, said in an interview. Her networks include MTV, Logo and Comedy Central.

In one example from February, a Verizon Wireless ad ran during a live telecast of a concert on MTV, but the camera never stopped showing the concert in the background. As the band Fall Out Boy continued to play, an image of a Verizon Wireless phone appeared in the center of the screen; viewers did not have to miss a beat of the concert and could still hear the crowd cheering.

“The whole goal here is to blur the line between content and advertising message,” said Hank Close, president for ad sales at MTV Networks.

Logo, the lesbian and gay network, is currently showing a two-minute commercial for Subaru that tells the story of a couple of women who like to take extreme athletic trips together. Only at the end of the ad does the Subaru logo appear.

MTV Networks has been involved in creating these ads, and in many cases the advertisers are able to run the ads elsewhere if they choose, Mr. Close said. Dr Pepper, for instance, liked an ad that VH1 created for it so much that it posted the commercial on its Web site.

One problem the networks face is letting viewers know about the new content during commercials, Mr. Close said. Viacom has been promoting some commercials before it shows them.

Last November, for example, six Viacom networks showed the “Spider-Man 3” trailer at the same time. It was the first time that the trailer had appeared anywhere. Leading up to it, the actors promoted it during program time on the networks. Kirsten Dunst, an actress in the movie, did a spot on MTV encouraging viewers to tune in to see the premiere of the movie trailer.

Similarly, MTV was the first to show an extended version of the first Nintendo Wii commercial during a block of programming in November called Gamer’s Week 2.0. After the ad, a host of Gamer’s Week 2.0 told the audience that they had just seen a world premiere of the Wii commercial.

“The commercial was so integrated into the context of the messaging of the program that it felt very synonymous,” said John Shea, executive vice president of integrated marketing for the MTV Networks Music & Logo Group. “Whenever we can turn what has been thought of as a break into an entertaining moment, we’re doing that.”

On a new Logo show this month, “The Big Gay Sketch Show,” Amp’d Mobile, the cellphone company, sponsored an ad that stars an actor from the show. In the commercial, which filled the entire two-and-a-half-minute commercial break, the actor plays his character, a man who changes into a gay werewolf under a full moon. Not coincidentally, the werewolf in the ad likes to call his mom on his Amp’d Mobile phone.

MTV created a new character, a woman named Parker, to turn commercials for Herbal Essences last summer into more entertaining content. There were five serial ads that led up to the network’s video music awards. First Parker sneaked into the theater where the awards show would be held, then she was mistaken for a presenter and pushed onto the stage.

Finally, for all the television viewers who had been following the Herbal Essences ad storyline, Parker appeared on the red carpet during the awards show — and waved to viewers as if she were a real celebrity rather than the star of a few commercials.