courtesy of www.engadget.com

KFC leverages DVR time-shifting to its advantage

We assumed that the TiVo revolution would eventually convince the entire advertising industry to just close up shop and find a new outlet for its scary powers of persuasion, yet time-shifted TV has actually caused the wily advertisers to evolve and adapt like some strain of superbacteria, and they continue to surprise us with innovative ways to subject us to their messages. Take a new ad from the restaurant formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken that premiers this week, in which a "secret" message is encoded such that it is only visible while the commercial is being fast-forwarded. Now this concept in-and-of itself seems quite effective--even the most die-hard commercial skipper still has to watch the screen to avoid missing the beginning of the next segment--but KFC is stepping it up a notch and actually providing an incentive for people to seek out the ad, offering a free sandwich to those who can regurgitate the hidden phrase. Imagine that: there may soon be a day when we record shows not because we enjoy them, but because advertisers have told us that they'll give us free swag if we comply.

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This is a creative move on their part, funny seeing that my company used to do their ads but lost the contract a while back. I think it was the dancing cartoon KFC that put them over the edge. I am now intrigued by this, we have a dvr and can pause and fast forward thru commericals. I will be keeping my eyes peeled for the next KFC ad.