Newsflash: commercials aren't dead. They're just different. And you cannot escape them.
Whew, it's good to take a moment to write something new. I hope you're all doing well in this somewhat chaotic business climate. Today's topic: what's a commercial? I have 20 minutes to write, so-- let's go!
Why now, why this topic? Because this is peak commercial-making time in the USA and my company Froth & Fur makes a lot of 'em. They're kind of on my mind.
So What Is a Commercial?
Used to be, way back before my time (ahem), that commercials were always thirty seconds long and lived exclusively on television. We used to call it TV, and it played in almost every home in the USA. We watched it together with cult-like devotion, bathed in cathode tube radiation.
We had about 4 channels (ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX-- yes I know FOX was late to the game, but I'm a Simpsons kid). Maybe you got a PBS channel too (oh man, does PBS still exist right now? These times, I tell you).
Anyway, commercials would play along with all that free content (and unasked-for radiation) you were getting off your rabbit ear antennae. They were kind of a big deal, whether they were big-ass national spots or the unintentionally ridiculous ones from your local used car dealer.
Note to self: lean into your ridiculousness, always.
Aren't Commercials Dead?
Some other (not me this time!) idiot said commercials were dead.
To me, this proclamation is just another hot take from an attention whore.
We're nothing like THAT, now. Are we?
Not Dead. Just Different. Kinda.
Point of fact: commercials aren't dead. Not even close.
But they have changed. Sure, lots of them are still thirty seconds long. Lots are fifteen. Some are six seconds long.
Who cares?
What's changed most is now commercials are everywhere.
You cannot escape them. They're insidious that way, they have infiltrated the fabric of your life.
Oh, you may think you can escape them. You may pay your many streaming subscriptions extra money to remove them for you. But you cannot escape them. Every screen you look at, from the one in your pocket to the big Times Square LED screens? They're all giving you commercials of some kind.
The More Things Change...
Commercials never went away. Probably never will go away. Oh sure, tastes mutate over time. Lots of the commercials we make these days are vertical so they play nice on your phone. Probably 70% of the ones we make never hit "TV" of the traditional kind (now CTV? That's something else).
Lots of 'em play in places you wouldn't expect. Not just on social media. But also in airports. Taxicabs. Hotel rooms. Tradeshows.
Me personally? I love the ones in Times Square. I sit on those bleachers and watch all the cool 3D anamorphic stuff going on (some of which I made). It's just fun stuff, but then I am a super nerd.
I also have a soft spot in my heart for the funny ones, wherever they are shown. But you probably got that by now from my writing style.
As long as there are businesses, brands, and even political candidates looking to sell you something, there's gonna be commercials. Sure, some of us try to be cool and call them something else but the fact is we're telling stories that are trying to persuade you to do something. Vote. Buy a biscuit. Whatever.
That's a commercial, not matter where or how you saw it.
My effing dentist even plays one on her LED screen I get to look up at while she beats on my teeth with those stainless steal implements of torture. Talk about a captive audience.
21 minutes! I'll take it. Onward, friends!
Hi, I'm Patrick. I'm from Froth & Fur. We make video content that helps bold brands stand out.