From pre-roll to 30-second spot

I never thought that my response of ZERO to the question as to how long an optimal pre-roll commercial should be would have resonated as it did.

Ian Schafer offers thoughtful commentary here and what I find interesting (but not surprising) is that his guidelines are 100% applicable to all of video advertising, including - but not limited to - television and the 30-second spot:

• Make ads better
• Make ads shorter
• Make ads more relevant
• Make ads less frequent

Reducing clutter is a no-brainer. Better targeting is critical. Improved creative is a necessity.

The only thing I'd tweak is that the length of the ads should be determined by the consumer - make ads shorter OR longer and let the consumer ultimately decide.