It began with file-sharing and continued with streaming services: the traditional television ad has run its course. Why? Because consumers either don’t care about or love advertising. If they love it, they will flock to YouTube and watch it in the millions.
When an ad is really good, it goes viral, and when it goes viral, sales go up.
But for most ads, either on television or in video streams, your fingers itch to just skip the ad. Numbers vary between 70 and 85 %, but it is clear that the majority really doesn’t want to see ads. Over 15 million installed adblockers is a clear message to advertisers. If I were an advertiser, I would stop buying tv or online pre- post- or mid-roll ads right away.
So what advertising counts? Product placement. But isn’t the medium the message, or distribution King Kong? Over 10 billion sold cigarettes say otherwise.
People will continue to watch tv shows and movies, but providing platform based advertising is just reactive. With product placement, every illegally shared file is a victory.
