Are live television ads TiVo proof?

According to The WSJ, live television ads might make a comeback. Tuesday’s broadcast of NBC’s “The Tonight Show” is going to air a live skit promoting Garmin GPS. NBC says the Garmin deal “obviously is a reaction to the DVR issue and a reaction to commercial ratings”.

So how is this TiVo proof? You can skip it just like anything else, but apparently Jay Leno’s announcer will play a part in the live skit as well. That make’s it a bit more difficult to differentiate between the actual show and the commercial. Nevertheless, I’m sure the FFW button will get mashed as soon as it becomes clear that it’s an advertisement. Hardly a breakthrough idea.

The truth is most commercials suck. They don’t benefit the viewer at all. Advertisers tend to take, take, take and never give. The ads that are successful are the ones that give back, at least a chuckle or a tear. I still stop my TiVo for new Mac ads because they make me laugh, and movie trailers because they give me a glimpse. But Ford, Zales, Quicken Loans, Lowe’s - forget it.

The only way to become TiVo proof is to make remarkable ads, ads clever enough to make people stop fast forwarding just to watch it. Everything else will get skipped.

Note: If the live skit is going to feature scenes like the pic above, chances are a lot of people men will stay tuned.