Making Commercials Scene

Today's guest blogger studies PR at NYU—while somehow managing to keep up with her TV—uh, study of mass media. The combo yields these insights from Chloe Licht:

DVR and TiVo have completely transformed the way I (and I bet most of you) watch TV. As I sit here staring absently at the TV, I count 24 shows set up to record weekly. (You might think this number would embarrass me, but in reality compared to others it is relatively low).

When I was younger, I only followed one or two shows religiously because I had to physically be there to watch them live (oh, the horror!). On average, in a 30-minute program only 18 minutes were spent on content, while the other 12 were commercials. While I secretly loved and memorized the old Kit Kat jingles and Pepsi songs, today I am able to maximize my time spent watching TV. Thanks to the wonderful FF button, I no longer have to waste my time watching commercials.

How can commercials be effective if we are constantly fast-forwarding through them?

Audi has come up with a creative strategy to combat this issue. It has teamed up with the FX Network to create a series of 8 short 2-minute films. The campaign is named “Untitled Jersey City Project.” This film series is based solely on the premise of product placement. However, the company name is never explicitly referred to within the films. Instead, they feature enticing footage of Audis driving through dramatic scenes. The episodes are shown in movie theaters before the previews. And as you probably already realized, you can’t fast forward at the movies!

After seeing the initial episode in the theater, I was both curious and confused. I had no idea I was watching an ad. At the end of the film, viewers were urged to visit the website http://www.fxnetworks.com/untitledjerseycityproject/ to view more.

I was surprised and impressed when I realized the entire production was an advertising campaign. Clearly, there is still a way to get us to watch and engage in commercials. In this case, the key was thinking outside the box…Literally.

Chloe Licht grew up in Providence, Rhode Island. She loves to bust a move and has a passion for spicy food (especially Sriracha). She is pursuing her Masters in Public Relations & Corporate Communication at NYU.