CBS Video/PrintAd Just Not Responsible
CBS Marketing Group is putting a USB enabled video chip/screen in to a page of Entertainment Weekly magazine. “We love print,” says George Schweitzer, president of CBS Marketing Group. “We’re saving the print industry.” (via broadcastingcable.com)
Let me begin by saying that I think this man is out of his ever-loving mind. There are fundamental principals here that Schweitzer is neglecting.
1) Video can’t save print, because it is VIDEO. Print will save print. If video was to save print, that would have happened when TV was invented. This will be a short term gain for print because of its shock value, that is all. Its a parlor trick, NOT conducive to a long term strategy for strengthening the print industry.
2) During a time when green is very important to consumers, CBS is distributing a non-recyclable electronic device in a paper magazine. This is just plain irresponsible. The device’s only purpose is to serve up an ad ONE time and then be thrown away. Perhaps if a user could take it out of the magazine and use it as a thumb drive, I might not feel so offended. But there has been no mention of it in any of the coverage.
The supposed experience is that when you’re flipping through Entertainment Weekly, you open to their spread, there’s a delay, and then a 30-40 second commercial starts playing with or WITHOUT your permission. As far as I understand it, there’s no mute or pause button. There’s no way of opting out of the video. Nothing could be more intrusive… except for maybe if CBS marketing walked in my front door flailing marionettes, performed a puppet show on my lap, and then dropped their dolls on my floor leaving me with the decision to keep them in my house to collect dust, or add them to my heaving American garbage pile.
This new experience is already getting widespread coverage. My hope is that a secondary examination of this action will result in outrage. After everyone is done ooh-ing and aah-ing at the shiny new toy, they will see it for what it is: a reprehensible stunt.
