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TV commercials are shrinking along with attention spans and advertising budgets. The 15-second ad is increasingly common, gradually supplanting the 30-second spot just as it knocked off the full-minute pitch decades ago.
For viewers, it means more commercials in rapid-fire format. For advertisers, shorter commercials save some money, and research shows they hold on to more eyeballs than the longer format.
"It used to be that the most valuable thing on the planet was time, and now the most valuable thing on the planet is attention," says John Greening, associate professor at Northwestern University's journalism school and a former executive vice president at ad agency DDB Chicago.
So instead of seeing a lengthier plot line, viewers are treated to the sight of, say, the popular "Old Spice man" riding backward on a horse through various scenes for 15 seconds.
Or the "most interesting man in the world," the suave, Spanish-accented character pitching Dos Equis beer, appearing just long enough to turn his head and weigh in on the topic of roller-blading.
The number of 15-second television commercials has jumped more than 70 percent in five years to nearly 5.5 million last year, according to Nielsen. They made up 34 percent of all national ads on the air last year, up from 29 percent in 2005.
Commercial-skipping digital video recorders and distractions such as laptops and phones have shortened viewers' attention spans, says Deborah Mitchell, executive director of the Center for Brand and Product Management at the University of Wisconsin.
Fifteen-second ads cost about the same per second as longer ones but cost half as much. A 15-second ad on network TV cost about $20,000 on average last year, according to Nielsen.
The quick-hit formula is common in the political ads flooding viewers ahead of Tuesday's elections. Fifteen seconds is plenty of time for an attack ad.
Procter & Gamble, maker of Crest toothpaste and Tide detergent and the world's biggest advertiser, doubled its number of 15-second ads to more than 299,000 last year from the year before. Wal-Mart increased its use of 15-second ads nearly 30-fold to 148,000 last year from only about 5,700 in 2005.
Robert Clifton, executive creative director for Minneapolis ad agency Campbell Mithun, said there will always be a mix of 15-second and 30-second commercials. He said 30-second spots are necessary to tell the story of a product, while 15-second spots are reminders.
"Some things work fine in 15 seconds but many stories don't fit in that time," Clifton said. "You get more impact with 30 seconds."
Star Tribune staff writer David Phelps contributed to this report.
