Posted 6:26 AM by Gene

The American Society of Willfully Ignorant Advertisers congratulates itself for ANOTHER JOB WELL DONE:

[A]cross prime-time TV, the number of ads and promos has increased sharply over the years. A typical "one-hour" prime-time series clocks in at less than 42 minutes, down from 44 minutes several years ago and nearly 48 minutes in the 1980s....

To prevent channel surfing, networks increasingly avoid airing commercials between shows. Instead, they save several minutes of more substantial scenes for a show's ending and then move "seamlessly" into the next program. The upshot is that more ads and promos air within programs.

But not to worry: they'll still donate the money:

Advertisers tolerate the excess bunching of commercials for the sake of reaching 25 million viewers in TV's biggest hits.

Housewives is among a handful of shows "where there's tremendous attention, passion and a halo effect where your commercial might actually resonate," says Initiative Media's top ad buyer Tim Spengler. "Up to a certain point, (they) look the other way."

Of course they would. Advertisers are the blind with blinders.

By the way, that was a nice closing touch there, Gary, from the rag that PIONEERED PLUGGING THE SUPER BOWL ADS.