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Advertisers, broadcasters fight over who owns the HD sidebars during 4x3 commercials
Surprisingly, even in 2010 not every commercial on high definition channels is actually in HD, and for channels like TBS that fill in the sides of 4x3 content with their own branded bars, advertisers are suddenly finding issue with competing for screen space. Things reached a head when TBS used its bars to promote the new late night Conan show, and now the Association of National Advertisers has come out with a statement indicating the sidebars belong to the advertiser, not the network, while the ad is running unless otherwise agreed. Of course, simply making commercials in HD (if they're going to be on, they should at least look good) would fix this, but until then well see who has the upper hand in this battle of wills.
Disney creates laboratory for biometric testing of advertisements
We've seen outfits and networks dig deep to figure out how to make ads more attractive (or just watchable, really), but Disney's taking things to an entirely new plateau. The mega-corp is establishing a laboratory in Austin, Texas which will actually test the biometric reactions of up to 4,000 people in order to better understand what types of commercials are most effective. In the controlled setting, gurus will be tasked with measuring "heart rate and skin conductivity while tracking the gaze of participants who are exposed to new ad models over the internet, mobile devices and TV screens." As expected, the entire project is being undertaken in order to discover whether it can charge more for certain spots, but we're told not to expect the findings until early next year.[Image courtesy of MSNBC]
DG FastChannel rolls out Spot Box for HD ad delivery
Advertisers and networks worried about missing the boat with old-school standard definition ads can expect a boost from DG FastChannel, as it rolls out its HD Xtreme initiative. This week at the NAB show, it's showing off the Spot Box - HD Xtreme edge-server that allows HD advertising to distribute and manage high definition advertisements. We were a bit more excited about HD ads when there was less high def to watch at all, but when there's an ad that's visually stimulating (in a good way) we'd still rather see it in 16x9 with all the resolution possible.
HD commercials gaining traction?
Just two short years ago, we were the ones wondering where all the HD ads were, but now it seems that commercials in high-definition are finally getting the attention they deserve. According to a study conducted on Discovery HD Theater, it was found that "the increase in brand recall by HD viewers was triple that of standard-definition viewers, and intent-to-purchase was 55-percent higher when ads were seen in HD." Furthermore, viewers claimed that spots in high-def were "very enjoyable." The research hints that HD commercials may finally be recognized as "premium content" worth premium prices, but it was noted that as these kinds of ads become "more normal, they won't have as big a lift."[Image courtesy of HiddenWires]
