Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says the future of television advertising is in its past. He says bring back the live commercial so the viewer (nor the advertiser) will know what to expect until it happens. Calling them Reality Commercials, Cuban claims implementing such a thing would not be a technical challeng or a creatyive one but it would entail a whole lot more work. He cites a couple of examples which does get the mind thinking. After all, a commercial riffing unexpectedly off what the viewer just watched would be far more interesting and integrated than a canned spot. And, oh, the potential for screw ups….that alone would keep a fair amount of people watching.
It’s a radical idea but then Mark Cuban is a radical guy. While we’re all lamenting the troubles of the :30, this guy puts forth a simple idea that anyone us us has/could have thought of but we’re so stuck with our current model, we can’t get out of our own way. I urge brands and networks to try this. There’s nothing to lose. Everything’s already on a downward slide so there’s nothing to lose by trying something like this. And wouldn’t it be a hell of a lot more fun and goose bump-inducing than creating an over produced piece of crap that does nothing but wastes the client’s money?
