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Ask HN: Have TV ads changed?

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Ask HN: Have TV ads changed?

#1

Post by ushakov »

i don't know why, but recently many TV ads give me an uncanny feeling

every other ad is what i would describe as "dancing happy diverse young people in colourful clothes"

when i'm watching TV ads i feel like i'm watching a corporate-monster version TikTok

the difference is with TikTok this is the content, but with TV ads it isn't even clear what the product they are advertising

how effective is the "dancing happy teenagers in colourful clothes" strategy in TV ads? teenagers typically don't watch TV

have you noticed this with TV ads in your country?

Re: Ask HN: Have TV ads changed?

#4

Post by dazc »

> '...it isn't even clear what the product they are advertising'

Not noticed the TikTok influence so much in the UK yet but this satement certainly rings true.

I think advertisers, like the media, are suffering a severe disconnect from the people they are broadcasting to. Over here a common theme is portraying the average family as mixed race despite the fact that the vast majority of UK families are not mixed race at all.

I don't believe anyone takes much offence from this but it has become something of a running joke.

Re: Ask HN: Have TV ads changed?

#5

Post by ushakov »

dazc wrote: post #4

> '...it isn't even clear what the product they are advertising' Not noticed the TikTok influence so much in the UK yet but this satement certainly rings true. I think advertisers, like the media, are suffering a severe disconnect from the people they are broadcasting to. Over here a common theme is portraying the average family as mixed race despite the fact that the vast majority of UK families are not mixed race a…

yeah, Google even went one step further: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxERxFXPw3M

on thing i cannot understand though is why do they need to constantly keep the ads running

if you're Coca-Cola, mostly everybody in the world already knows what you're offering

why spend millions on ads?

Re: Ask HN: Have TV ads changed?

#6

Post by swatcoder »

The short answer is that some algorithm somewhere thinks that you’ll respond to ads produced in that style.

Since most ad placement is profiled and personalized now, we’re all likely to see a different pattern of ads. That doesn’t just mean seeing different products advertised, but different styles used in those advertisements.

And failing useful profiles, the ads will reflect the expected demographic of what content you’re watching and how you’re accessing it.

And given all that, we shouldn’t be surprised that there are many agencies and clients saying “we want to reach those TikTok kids! Let’s ape that style in our own sterile, corporatized way”

Who knows whether that’s an effective strategy or just an experiment that’ll burn off or tune up after a while. It’s doubtful anybody will share real data about it here.

Personally, I only very rarely see the style of ads you’re talking about.

Re: Ask HN: Have TV ads changed?

#7

Post by ushakov »

swatcoder wrote: post #6

The short answer is that some algorithm somewhere thinks that you’ll respond to ads produced in that style. Since most ad placement is profiled and personalized now, we’re all likely to see a different pattern of ads. That doesn’t just mean seeing different products advertised, but different styles used in those advertisements. And failing useful profiles, the ads will reflect the expected demographic of what content…

TV is watched by many audiences, but teenagers aren't it

so, why put an ad designed for teenagers on a platform that teenagers don't consume?

> Personally, I only very rarely see the style of ads you’re talking about.

i have very different experience in Germany

take Bauhaus for example, they straight up show TikTok videos on TV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nV1OPEFUCk

Re: Ask HN: Have TV ads changed?

#8

Post by midasuni »

I haven’t noticed many tv adverts at all - the last one I think I saw live was during the England vs Croatia in July 2018 which was sadly on ITV instead of BBC. I don’t remember much more.

I also tuned in on YouTube to watch the superbowl adverts (there was one with skeletor and heman), and I tend to watch the big budget Christmas adverts on YouTube at the start of December

I guess next adverts will be in December if England get through to the last 16 and the game is on ITV.

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