Quick Idea for
Fast-Forward Ads
I had an idea a few months ago about utilizing the tendency of tv viewers to fast-forward through videotaped programs to display ads in a new way, and promptly filed it away for future reference.

A recent post on the Adland blog about a KFC commercial trying to use DVRs to promote a free sample campaign brought it back to mind.

The KFC idea strikes me as undercooked.
It requires DVR owners watch their commercial in slow-motion in order to get a code that can be redeemed for a free KFC Snacker sandwich. The visual result appears to be less than stellar (see pic on the Adland site), and requires you own DVR to even participate.

While DVRs are popular, they are hardly in every home — limiting the response if they achieved the most positive of results (which they won’t, because this idea is so undercooked it will give you salmonella poisoning.)

Here’s my spin —
You film your commercial’s video images in slow motion.

This way when people are using their VCRs to fast-forward through your spot, it will run at regular speed. I do not own a DVR, but if it works the same way (rather than simply jumping forward 60-seconds), the results should be similar.

No, you wouldn’t create your ad in a traditional manner. It would need to be quick — show your URL on screen, or phone number, etc. to get people to see what you want (perhaps you add a ‘squiggle’ filter so that the image appears un-squiggled when viewed in FF).

Your sound editing would be extremely important. There isn’t any audio in FF viewing, but it would need to run at regular speed when viewed in real time. I suggest making it play on the slow-moving images. Great for any time-saving product or service. “Do you hate standing in line, waiting on-hold, etc.?” “Does it feel like the world around you is moving in slow-motion?” types of messages should play well. It could work for showing how one car is faster than another, etc.

I believe there are many ways to make this concept work. I’m just waiting for someone to realize that people who FF through your commercials can still be influenced — as a matter of fact, they watch the screen more intently than those who let the commercials play in real-time. The FF viewer is trying to click PLAY at just the right time to start their show immediately after the commercial ends. The real-time viewer does a bathroom or refrigerator run. They flip channels or read books and newspapers while the commercials air in real-time — ignoring the message until they hear their show begin.

We are an audience on Fast-Forward.
It’s time advertisers started to catch up.