Commercial breaks. We all know why there are commercial
breaks in our television viewing...it’s so you can go to the bathroom or get a
snack and not miss any of the action. Not what they advertisers want to hear,
but most likely the truth.
Curious, I took a one hour span, from 4 until 5 P.M. on a
weekday, and made note of the number and kinds of actual ads that were
presented. There were five commercial breaks, three to five minutes each time,
running from six to eleven ads. Most of these ads only lasting 30 seconds,
almost subliminal as they were of such short duration.
At the top of the hour, I tuned to the Lifetime Channel to
watch NCIS. Six ads ran before the show began, for a total of 5 minutes.
A movie
trailer for With This Ring
Nutragena skin care
Vichy make
up
Flex Care
Insurance
Tim Horton’s
coffee
And an ad
for movies and shows for the month...Serendipity in Love
The actual show ran for 10 minutes before the next
commercial break, which lasted 3 minutes and included the following 11
advertisements.
A Lifetime
show...The Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce
Neutragena skin care x2
L’Oreal
make up x2
Movie
trailer for Fifty shades of Gray
Lucky
charms cereal
Old El Paso
taco kits
KFC...Kentucky
Fried Chicken
Red Rose Tea
L’Oreal x3
(2nd time this break)
Baby bel
cheese
Promotional
ad for Kids Baking Championship show
After this we got another 11 minutes of NCIS, followed by
another 3 minutes of ads.
Promotion
for show Top Gear on the History channel
IKEA
furniture
KFC x2
eHarmony
dating service
Fructis
shampoo
Elite
dating service
Public
Service announcement for the Aboriginal Human Resource Council
Promo for
show Friends to Lovers
Eight more minutes of NCIS and back to the commercials.
Lucky
Charms cereal x2
El Paso x2
EOS lip
balm
Astro Yogourt
eHarmony
dating x2
L’Oreal
make up x4
Hershey’s
Kisses
Another
Public Service...Raising the Roof.
Another 13 minutes of the show and it was basically done. Ad
time again, for another three minutes.
Promos for
Lifetime shows
Quaker
Oatmeal
KFC x3
Veet hair
removal
Celebrex...a
pharmaceutical
Lincoln
automobiles
Feria hair
colour
Promo for
new show Battle Creek
Promo for
return of Big Brother Canada
NCIS returned for less than a minute, just to run the
closing credits.
So, if this is par for the course in television land, our
hour long show actually runs 43 minutes, with the rest of the hour being 17
minutes of commercials.
And in those five commercial breaks there were 43 ads,
though some were repeats. I would assume this time of day the viewing audience would
be mainly women, just home from work, just before dinner. That would be why the
ads were heavy in the food (12) and make up/skin care (10) categories. Promo
ads were numerous; all but one for television shows (10). Public Service
announcements were low (2). There were (2) company ads, and (6) promos for
service companies.
As I stay tuned for the next hour of crime drama, NCIS Las
Angeles, it made me appreciate the talent needed to make those 43 minutes of
viewing time. Screen writers have a very different challenge than those who
write fiction. It’s all about the action and dialogue, the visual speaks for
itself. In books, that visual has to be written, and you know that old
saying...One picture is worth a thousand words.
I must have paid some attention to the ads because I’m
hungry, and seem to have a craving for KFC, which I haven’t had in years, or
tacos. I’m also aware that my skin feels dry and wonder if one of these
products would help.
Considering the large number of viewers, I would assume the
ads create interest and/or result in sales, so it’s worth the cost and effort.
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