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> On TV, the ground rules are clearer: Ads come when the show takes a break. Except this isn't true at all. For one, they run ads over the top of shows (which

by larrik 8y ago

> On TV, the ground rules are clearer: Ads come when the show takes a break. Except this isn't true at all. For one, they run ads over the top of shows (which is super obnoxious), but at least they tend to be for other shows rather than products. But even decades ago, shows like Transformers and Ninja Turtles were really just toy advertisements (literally, not being cynical). How do you distinguish that from this Youtube stuff?

Nextgrid 8y ago
The case of Transformers or Ninja Turtles isn't an issue because while the content is being essentially an advertisement, it's content people actually want to watch. The same would apply to let's say a documentary about TV advertising. Sure, it's going to contain ads in it, but it's ads you actually want to watch because they're part of the content you wanted to watch - a documentary about TV ads.
pbhjpbhj 8y ago
You could probably argue that Star Wars franchise was/is a toy/merch advert along the lines of He-Man or TMNT.
- krapp 8y ago
  Bear in mind that those cartoons were often created as an afterthought to toys which had already been designed or, in the case of Transformers and other transforming robot toys, repackaged from other toy lines (which is why one of the Transformers is a Veritech fighter from Macross, BTW.) Star Wars, at least, began story first... and remained so until George Lucas realized just how much money could be made with merchandise and toys. Star Wars also predated all of the above cartoons so it didn't have that model to draw from initially.
gotocake 8y ago
Long before 80’s cartoons, back into the dawn of television it was usually a given brand overtly sponsoring a show. You’d get things like “The Brand D variety hour.” Before that it was the same way in radio. I still have old recordings of The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and it would open with a guy from Petri Wine or Blue Coal “meeting” Dr. Watson. I can still remember their latter, “Petri took time to bring you good wine.” “Blue Coal, the finest anthracite money can buy.” They’d have an ad break midway and Watson would chat with the company man about the merits of the brand, and maybe exhort people to buy War or Victory Bonds. This isn’t new, advertising has had its hand up our collective bungs for longer than any of us have been alive. We should fight it all the harder now that for the first time we can block their poison without blocking content.
jobigoud 8y ago
> they run ads over the top of shows (which is super obnoxious) Whose idea was this? When did it start? I've seen this mostly on American TV shows for the past few years. It completely breaks the immersion even on torrented content where the ads have been removed. (It's impossible to follow anything on regular TV with the multiple ads interruption.)
- larrik 8y ago
  It started like a decade ago, I think? It's gotten a lot worse, though. It's like they really really want you to only watch shows on Bluray or streaming.

by larrik 8y ago

Nextgrid 8y ago

The case of Transformers or Ninja Turtles isn't an issue because while the content is being essentially an advertisement, it's content people actually want to watch. The same would apply to let's say a documentary about TV advertising. Sure, it's going to contain ads in it, but it's ads you actually want to watch because they're part of the content you wanted to watch - a documentary about TV ads.

pbhjpbhj 8y ago

You could probably argue that Star Wars franchise was/is a toy/merch advert along the lines of He-Man or TMNT.

krapp 8y ago
Bear in mind that those cartoons were often created as an afterthought to toys which had already been designed or, in the case of Transformers and other transforming robot toys, repackaged from other toy lines (which is why one of the Transformers is a Veritech fighter from Macross, BTW.) Star Wars, at least, began story first... and remained so until George Lucas realized just how much money could be made with merchandise and toys. Star Wars also predated all of the above cartoons so it didn't have that model to draw from initially.

gotocake 8y ago

Long before 80’s cartoons, back into the dawn of television it was usually a given brand overtly sponsoring a show. You’d get things like “The Brand D variety hour.” Before that it was the same way in radio. I still have old recordings of The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and it would open with a guy from Petri Wine or Blue Coal “meeting” Dr. Watson. I can still remember their latter, “Petri took time to bring you good wine.” “Blue Coal, the finest anthracite money can buy.” They’d have an ad break midway and Watson would chat with the company man about the merits of the brand, and maybe exhort people to buy War or Victory Bonds. This isn’t new, advertising has had its hand up our collective bungs for longer than any of us have been alive. We should fight it all the harder now that for the first time we can block their poison without blocking content.

jobigoud 8y ago

> they run ads over the top of shows (which is super obnoxious) Whose idea was this? When did it start? I've seen this mostly on American TV shows for the past few years. It completely breaks the immersion even on torrented content where the ads have been removed. (It's impossible to follow anything on regular TV with the multiple ads interruption.)

larrik 8y ago
It started like a decade ago, I think? It's gotten a lot worse, though. It's like they really really want you to only watch shows on Bluray or streaming.