The following takes place between 9:00pm and 10:00pm.
Monday night means a Bauer power hour, a sixty minute stay in the land of make-believe following the FOX show, ‘24’. Engaging in our weekly espionage means moving lights to their “off switch” and a vow of silence from all sofas—a tradition eight years running.
Through the years, the couches, company, and even the TVs used to take it in have changed, but the time dedicated to the drama has not—it’s always a full sixty minutes. Despite the advent of the DVR, advertisers are still guaranteed complete attention to their commercials among our group, a ritual reserved solely for this single show.
The commercial breaks, often overruled with the frenzied fast-forward button, create a chance to build anticipation as the two-plus minutes are spent agonizing over the story line and what comes next. Simply stated, speeding through sponsorships would stall the total satisfaction served by Bauer.
TV networks turn to Nielsen to verify their viewership and judge consumers’ jubilee for a given show, but what the ratings don’t reveal—the show finished a tough third last Monday, even falling behind a rerun of ‘Two And A Half Men’—is the manner in which the show is seen.
Our fixed formation of five viewers adds a solitary stat to the show’s overall ratings when we watch on a single TV—missing not only more numbers, but the show’s status as a weekly event. Beyond the basic data lies a paradigm probably produced for other programs (everything from ‘American Idol’ to NFL games): a show’s ability to create an experience for its viewers.
Because we extend our enjoyment by watching real-time rather than recording, we tend to talk through the two minute respite—often about the commercials providing the pause.
As advertisers roam through the bevy of broadcasts to pick their placements, they’d be wise to noodle a new metric of success, one which accounts for audiences by gauging the richness behind the ratings—now that’d be something even Jack couldn’t stop; well, not in a single day anyway.
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As you march on through the waning days of January’s winter-wonderland, we encourage you to stay warm by dancing as if no one was watching.
I have viewed the program from its inception 8 seasons ago from many a couch, with an ever-shifting band of 24 brethren beside me. And yes, we do enforce the “shut your mouth between clock-beeps” law that naturally pairs with such a show when it is being presented in “real time.”
Still, as I finally exhale from the fast-paced, Bauer-fueled action to take a deep breath with a word from our sponsors, I am not sure how closely I watch the ads. I agree that the 2 minutes plus adds the needed level of anticipation to the show, which luxuries like DVR allow us to avoid, yet I seem to use those minutes to break my fixed gaze on the screen to reflect upon Jack’s uncanny ability to overcome any odds (be it a nuclear blast or the shakes from heroin withdrawal).
You have a great point that ad exec’s are now faced with a new demon to slay…the viewer’s ability to fast forward commercials when they have DVR’ed a show. I am not sure there is even a way for them to conquer that beast, unless they approach TV execs to develop more 24-like shows that need the commercials to increase the show’s intensity.
I do find one thing interesting related to ads after so many Bauer-soaked years though. I tend to pay close attention to commercials featuring 24 actors. Be it the bold and morally fortified, late President Palmer making sure I’m in good hands with Allstate or Keifer using his “sweet” voice to purr about Sprint, I can’t help but watch and remember good times from past seasons.
Maybe that’s the key…cast all advertising with 24 staff.
Kim Bauer on the hood of a Mustang slinging car wax? Chloe convincing me how well Ex-Lax works?
Now that would be one hell of a day!
…beep-beep, beep-beep…
The only show I’ve ever dedicated my (real) time to was “The Shield” on FX. Despite not watching much TV, during “The Shield” I was keenly aware of the edgy commercials… especially a Ketel One Vodka ad that was largely panned by ad agencies but really made an impression on me. I never DVR’ed through that one, and we have Ketel One in our freezer.