Television today, reflect the disjointed culture of the
American society. Living in a fast paced
life, people only catch quick glimpses of a show, a bit here and there and due
to this fact, the programming has changed.
Shows are shorter and are not as detailed as they use to
be. A story does not continue from one
week to the next instead begins and ends with each show. More networks are going to 30 minutes and
reality shows that suit the inattentive world they are serving. Proof of this is the popularity of the
reality shows, no matter how real or edited they are. A viewer is able to be distracted from a
program and still be able to rejoin the program without having to rewind to
find out what just happened.
Also a great many shows that do carry plots over a series of
programs, recap at the end or beginning for show that if a viewer missed it or
where not attentive, the viewer will be able to catch up. In addition to this, many shows like the
Mentalist, NCSI, Elementary will give a summary of what has occurred doing the
show as an explanation of how they solved the mystery.
Another innovation that television has developed to catch or
keep the viewer’s attention is the short, quick and stimulating commercial. Most commercials are now on average 15 seconds
long; some as short as five seconds and very few as long as 30 seconds.
 |
| CBS' Big Brother homepage. Image from CBS.com/Bigbrother |
CBS’ Big Brother is a great example of both a reality show
and a show that gives you a review and preview of the past and upcoming show. It
is similar to Survivor, Amazing Race and The Real World.
Big Brother starts out with 16 housemates, who are gathered
from entrees across the U.S. The show
follows them, trapped in a house, dealing with each other 24 hours a day for 92
days. The show airs three times a week
and is edited to provide the viewer the most entertainment. Besides following the drama and chaos of the house
guest’s lives together, they also compete in competitions for power over the
house (Head of Household), Have/Have Nots (who will eat slop or normal food),
and Power of Veto (protection for eviction for yourself and/or who you give the
Veto to).
On the show that aired on August 8th, there were
11 house guest left and the producers of the show wanted to “shake the show up”
with a double elimination, which means they have two weeks worth of competitions
in one night. Given that this is season
15, the house guests are familiar with the format of the show and are seldom
caught off guard (they were expecting this double elimination).
 |
| Candace in her drama mode. Picture from Big Brother Live Feeds |
For a very quick recap of this episode, Candace, Aaryn,
Andy, Spencer, Jessie, Judd, Amanda, Mcrae, Helen, Ellisa and Ginamarie are the
remaining house guests. As you can
imagine, not everyone gets along with one another and this episode showed Candace
fighting with Amanda and Ginamarie, who was Head of Household. Candace, Spencer and Amanda were up for
eviction and the overall concensus of the house was that Candace needed to go to
remove the drama, and she was voted out, 7-0-0.
 |
| Helen scheming with Andy. Picture from Big Brother Live Feeds |
They quickly competed for new HoH, had the eviction
nominations and then veto competition. The
two who were running the game, Amanda and Helen worked the house guests and
with some scheming, lies, plotting and applied pressure, the house decided to
backdoor Judd who they suspected of working and playing the house. Helen and Amanda consider him the greatest
threat. Working with the alliances and
threatening those who on the outside, Jessie removed herself and he was put up
for eviction. He was surprised and was
voted out 6 to 0. There was one new
twist to this year, that Big Brother came up with to through a kink in those
who are familiar with the format that could possible mess with a house guest’s
game plan and it was announced to the house guests during this show; there will
be nine juries this season instead of the seven of seasons past.
 |
| Amanda with her showmance "hubby" Mcrae. Picture from Big Brother Live Feeds. |
This show is on for an hour three times a week and is quick
snap shot of the lives of the house guests.
With this in mind, the commercials that accommodate this show are also
short, quick and to the point. The
commercials range for five to 30 seconds, with an average of 15 seconds. Big Brother’s viewers cover all age groups,
male/female and cultures. From the
commercials and time of year, the advertising appeared to be focused more on
females, particularly moms over children or men. Back to school, upcoming fall programming and
movie previews seem to be the most recurring theme to the advertising; oh and
self-promotion on the behalf of Big Brother.
As television echoes and mirrors are society and culture, it
will have shorter and simpler content that will allow the distracted population
to be able to feel like they are about to watch, enjoy and follow the
shows. Ads will continue to be
stimulating, short and full of the basic information to persuade the viewers to
buy the offered products, that of course focus on the main viewers current
needs. It will be interesting to see the
next step, having the televisions interact with the smartphones, computers and
tablets that are “distracting” the viewers and pop up the ads on the screens
that are occupying the viewer’s attention.
Below are the ads that ran during the episode of Big Brother
on August 8th, what was being advertised and how long the commercial
ran for.
First commercial break:
K9 Advantix by PetSmart that lasted 15 sec.
Back to school clothing by Burlington that lasted 10 sec.
Elysium movie preview, that lasted 10 sec.
Pizza by Pizza Hut that lasted 13 sec.
Popcicle by Fruttare that lasted 15 sec.
Soap by Dove that lasted 15 sec.
Allergy medicine by Allegra that lasted 15 sec.
Scoopydoo mouth wash by Act for Kids that lasted 15 sec.
Summer mini series: Under the Dome by CBS that lasted 5 sec.
Promotion for a new fall show: Mom by CBS that lasted 20
sec.
Big brother: live chat by CBS that lasted 10 sec.
Big brother: live feed by CBS that lasted 10 sec.
Second commercial break:
Candy by
MM’s that lasted 15 sec.
Fast food
chicken by Kfc that lasted 15 sec.
Jump by T
Mobile that lasted 25 sec.
Promotion
for The Talk by CBS that lasted 20 sec.
Promotion
for new fall show: The Crazy Ones by CBS that lasted 40 sec.
Promotion
for new fall show: We Are Men by CBS that lasted 20 sec.
Third
commercial break:
You’re Next movie preview that lasted 30 sec.
Back school clothing by Kohls that lasted 30 sec.
Smart phones by Sprint (this was
aimed at students to use for school research) that lasted 30 sec.
Promotion for the Tonight Show with
David Letterman by CBS that lasted 5 sec.
Local news preview by KVAL that
lasted 15 sec.
News Tipline by KVAL that lasted 10
sec.
Truck Sale: Ford 150 by Ford that
lasted 20 sec.
Chicken sandwich by Jack in the Box
that lasted 30 sec.
Local news preview by KVAL that
lasted 5 sec.
Big brother: live feeds that lasted 15
sec.
Fourth commercial break:
Windows 8 tablet by Staples.com that
lasted 30 sec.
The Mortal Instruments movie preview
that lasted 30 sec.
Pet supplies/Anniversary sale by
PetSmart that lasted 15 sec.
Allergy medicine by Allegra that lasted 15 sec.
Promotion for Elementary (coming up
next) by CBS that lasted 10 sec.
Summer mini series: Under the Dome by CBS that lasted 20
sec.
Promotion
for new fall show: The Millers by CBS that lasted 30 sec.
Promotion for Unforgettable by CBS that lasted 5 sec.
SUV: Pilot by Honda that lasted 30
sec.
Tires by Les Schwab Tires that lasted
30 sec.
“Sexy” breakfast sandwich by Carl’s
Junior that lasted 30 sec.
11 p.m. News Update/preview by KVAL
that lasted 5 sec.
Jump by T Mobile that lasted 30 sec.
The Millers movie preview that
lasted 15 sec.
Dog food by Caesar that lasted 15
sec.
Kenmore Elite appliances by Sears
that lasted 30 sec.
Promotion for new fall show:
Hostages by CBS that lasted 60 sec.
