I had insomnia last night and found myself watching “Family Guy” on Hulu at about 4 a.m. At the start of one episode, Hulu presented me with an option to see one ad at the beginning of the show, or ads throughout, as it usually does.
I chose the one-shot deal.
And a very strange ad for Stride Gum came on. It ran about two and a half minutes (I love the way Hulu runs a clock to let you know how much longer the ad has to run …), and at the end of it, I was wondering what I had seen. They’re running a $10k contest to rename this everlasting gum, but I also had to wonder if what they’re really doing is testing user acceptance/preferences for streaming video advertising. I was actually doubting whether Stride Gum existed at all and if it was all just a ploy to see what kind of consumer response they were getting. After looking at the site, I’m still not sure. But the ad:
1. Got me to go to the site
2. Stayed with me. I’m still thinking about it, and even writing about it.
3. Was preferable to sitting through multiple interruptions in the Family Guy. I’d sooner sit through the 2.5 minute ad, especially if it’s somehow unique or off the wall, than get stopped periodically for 30 or 60 seconds.
Not sure where all this is heading, but the infomerical, or “winfomercial” as they call it, format of the Stride ad has potential. I’ve noticed Hulu and Boxee delivered content still is full of public service announcements where ad avails should be, and I’ve seen several instances where dated creative still was running. As these vehicles gain more mass appeal, it’s going to call for a more sophisticated and possibly targeted approach to serving ads. And better targeting might make viewers more amenable to the longer, one-shot format.
(I was watching Hulu via Boxee, btw. Boxee’s latest workaround for Hulu’s refusal to play ball is working pretty smoothly now … makes you wonder if Hulu will stop trying to hinder mass distribution and embrace it, instead.)