Pointless ads, 1/60th of a second, and permanent retinal damage...
Bryce Main
Multi-genre author, mostly Crime fiction. Scottish. Been writing longer than I’ve been wearing big boy’s trousers.
POINTLESS ADS, 1/60TH OF A SECOND, AND PERMANENT RETINAL DAMAGE…
There are some TV commercials that linger in the memory for years. Decades, even.
They’re that good.
But the majority, to my mind anyway, deserve to be forgotten almost immediately.
They’re that bad.
It’s a sad state of affairs, really. Because good or bad, they’re created by people who genuinely try their best and put their heart and soul into creating something that deserves to be looked at, listened to, and remembered.
And sometimes, but not often enough, acted upon.
Take me, for example…
When it comes to ads, I like to be told a story rather than just have a list of facts and figures rolled out in front of my eyes and ears.
I like to feel that there’s a valid point to the story. A good reason why someone is taking the time to put me into thinking mode. Sometimes even buying mode.
I like to be informed, maybe even educated…and sure as hell entertained.
It might take my synapses a skinny minute to get up and running. But if an ad grabs my attention…if it interests me…if It makes my juices flow…then maybe I’ll bite.
But if boredom sets in within, say, the first two seconds…forget it!
That’s why my bottom jaw hit the floor (metaphorically speaking) recently, when I read about a certain Canadian music and video TV channel called MuchMusic.
Nearly twenty years ago, on January 2, 2002 to be precise, they put out a telly ad that lasted a whopping 1/60th of a second.
Yup…blink and it went flying past your scalp with all the speed of a Lightning fighter jet with go-faster stripes.
It was created, produced, and edited by someone called Tharanga Ramanyake (I checked) and lasted a whole 12 subliminal frames.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, its claim to fame was being the world’s shortest TV commercial.
In a long line of pointless ads, this one took the biscuit. Officially.
Did they make it to see just how short they could make it?
Did they make it just so they could hold the record?
Did they want to see just how long it would take them to create something that moved so fast that it caused permanent retinal damage?
Answers on a postcard please.
But only if writing, posting, and delivering it takes 1/60th of a second.
Or less…
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The above is an extract from my, as yet unpublished (and mostly unwritten), book Ad Interruptus.
Like its sisters Ad Lib, and Ad Infinitum (NOW AVAILABLE), it's about creativity, advertising, life, and lots of stuff in between.
You'll find Ad Infinitum, Ad Lib, and Ad Hoc on Amazon, along with my other books, Love & Coffee and Heaven Help Us. In print and ebook. Waiting for you.
And the wonderful thing about all three Ad books is… it doesn’t matter where you finish any chapter or episode.
Because it will always be pretty damned close to where you started it…
Ad Infinitum: https://amzn.to/3pof7Uq
Ad Lib: http://amzn.to/2kd4LKf.
Ad Hoc: https://amzn.to/2Nx8GL8
Love & Coffee: http://amzn.to/28IWaHq
Heaven Help Us: http://amzn.to/2nkQ1Jk
Grab a coffee, grab a chair, and grab a sneaky peek.
Then grab a copy...