Response to Arthur Brockelman

Is There Too Much Entertainment in Superbowl Commercials?

I disagree with what Arthur writes in his post about Superbowl commercials. He believes that the advertisements have too much entertainment and little product information. I understand that he thinks that the company/brand/product should be introduced before the very last few seconds of the commercial, however I think that the point of TV commercials, especially during the Superbowl, is to engage the viewer in a storyline, to humor, and to entertain in general. When a viewer sees a commercial for the first time and is following the storyline, they stay engaged the whole time, if it is interesting enough, and are on their toes waiting to see what product it is for. I think that revealing the product at the end makes it more memorable because the viewer is waiting the entire commercial to figure out what it is for. I do think it would be appropriate to show the product in the commercial before it flat out says what it is but not entirely necessary. The entertainment aspect of commercials also generate more awareness of their product. If you see a funny commercial, you are more likely to tell a friend, relative, or co-worker about it. I think that this is more beneficial than an overly informative commercial.

Arthur also mentions that he thinks advertisements should have more information provided. I think that most commercials have an adequate amount of information about the product. If commercials and advertisements were made up of only information, there would be no hook or entertainment to it. One of the differences between advertising and marketing is the amount of information conveyed. In advertising, there is little information provided to the consumer and more persuasion to buy whereas in marketing there is a lot more information provided and little to no persuasion. I feel like there is enough information provided in commercials and a good amount of entertainment in them as well.

What is your opinion on the amount of entertainment in commercials?

Arthur's post can be found here.