On the cover of Ad Age this week, is a giant headline from NBC Universal: :30 and beyond. It sounds a lot similar to a certain book I'm vaguely familiar with (note to NBCUni: If you really want to shock and impress your advertisers, give away a copy of my book to each upfront attendee or have me address the crowd instead of Hiro Nakamura)
They didn't stop there.
This week NBC Universal announced that they were shunning 30-second spots online. Drilling down a little deeper, this is limited to pre-roll situations focused on short-form content, but irrespective it's a giant step in the right direction.
Whilst struggling Yahoo! and the other networks (offline; online) will no doubt continue to pig out at the trough of greed that is 30-second spot heaven, a major network - that arguably has both more to lose and gain - has taken a stand.
This is an announcement that is most likely going to frustrate lazy marketers and agencies (which is the norm, not the exception), so besides the obvious P.R. value generated from the announcement, where else can this go?
Personally, I believe that the optimal length of a pre-roll commercial online is a big fat ZERO. NBC Universal should be exponentially innovating, not incrementalizing here. They should take the wind in their sales generated from this announcement and convert it into pure innovation energy in the form of using technology (hint: Google purchased DoubleClick - gee, I wonder what happens when third-party adservers begin to power television) to power a more efficient, effective, accountable, engaging, relevant, utilitarian and entertaining value proposition that becomes a win-win for all.
Life after the 30-second spot is much close to Buzz Lightyear's Infinity and beyond as opposed to a wolf in sheep's clothing.
I applaud NBC's bold moves (Ford could learn a lot from this) but I hope this is a first of many steps in the right direction as opposed to just another way to package an already staid and dieing product.
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