HULU.com

I don't own a T.V. Haven't in going on two years, and this summer I've got to watch a seeming endless supply of entertainment on HULU.com. Great shows like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Friday Night Lights.

This vehicle works to build up fan bases for shows that five to ten years ago would have been canceled because people just couldn't get on board a show in the middle of the season. It takes time to get to know someone. Like anything there is an advertising arm connected to this entertainment medium, and it is frustrating that I'm just a grad student and not some media buyer.

There is so much potential with online media advertising like HULA because for the first time in forever I can actually remember the advertiser that I watched because I only had to sit through a 30 sec clip. A small price to pay for free streaming video that I can watch on my time.

The potential here is being overlooked though because advertisers simply run the same ad for a company like say Blackberry over and over and over. So in a show that has a runtime of 45 minutes we see the exact same ad four to five times.

Instead, how about someone create a story of three conecting ads. Something that runs parallel to the show, and acts as branded content. Consumers can handle the complexity, and would actually embrace this new approach to the thirty second spot.

Unfortunately I am in school for another year, and now get to watch someone do it first.

hulu.com