OMD tests 'fast-forward' ads, others embracing new ad models

OMD in the next few weeks will begin testing a new type of media buy that will deliver an advertising message even when TV viewers are fast-forwarding through their TV commercials. The agency's plans for the new "fast-forward commercials" were revealed Monday by David DeSocio, OMD's U.S. director of strategic marketing, during a keynote address on the second day of the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau's local advertising sales conference here. Asserting that DVRs "are not a threat" and may actually enhance the TV advertising experience by serving more relevant advertising to consumers who are more in control of the content they see, DeSocio said the new fast-forward ad tactic nonetheless would enable OMD's clients to "involve the consumer even when they are in avoidance mode."

While he did not reveal specifics of the test, DeSocio implied they might be similar to some of the techniques TiVo is developing including options that run audio ad messages, superimpose billboard messages, or run commercials in picture-in-picture screens while consumers are fast-forwarding through conventional commercial advertising pods.

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