Post by Inside Australian Idol on Mar 7, 2005 23:49:33 GMT 10
A flashy Ten trick marking X spots
March 07, 2005
CHANNEL 10 has resorted to subliminal advertising to bolster ratings for The X Factor talent quest.
Ten viewers have been hit with images -- just a fraction of a second long -- of the show's logo during normal scheduled programming.
Last Thursday it appeared as a micro-second flash during the troubled network's most popular show Everybody Loves Raymond, and in normal commercial breaks.
The practice is banned in Australia for product advertisements, but can be used to promote station programming, and Ten has opted to use the gimmick.
But not all like the idea -- such as dedicated TV viewer Chris Townshend, a Randwick sailing instructor who said it was insulting.
"There was a really good scene on Raymond last Thursday and suddenly this X logo flashed on," he said.
"It completely ruined the scene's continuity -- when an ad's on, an ad's on but why try to bulls..t you with subliminal stuff during a show?
"It ruined the scene and it was an insult. They might have thought it was cool, but this subliminal stuff has been around since The Young Ones and it just looks stupid when they seriously try it on."
Mid-1980s UK satire The Young Ones used subliminal micro-second image flashes.
A Ten spokeswoman said that The X Factor subliminal tactic was being used, but completely within broadcasting authority guidelines.
While commercial competitors Channels 9 and 7 have not used the device, Ten has good reason -- its programming line-up has few viewers.
The X Factor -- a near mirror image of Idol -- has drawn less than a million viewers in its two one-hour outings each week.
Ten's 2005 fortunes are hitched to it, but the big unknown is if people will care about the 2005 version of Australian Idol which follows it.
Ten now has three hours of talent quest shows airing per week and viewer burn-out is predicted after a dull end to last year's Australian Idol.
The reality overload could also mess with this year's Big Brother series, which will be loaded with stunts to maintain pop culture relevancy.
finance.news.com.au/story/0,10166,12464190-462,00.html
March 07, 2005
CHANNEL 10 has resorted to subliminal advertising to bolster ratings for The X Factor talent quest.
Ten viewers have been hit with images -- just a fraction of a second long -- of the show's logo during normal scheduled programming.
Last Thursday it appeared as a micro-second flash during the troubled network's most popular show Everybody Loves Raymond, and in normal commercial breaks.
The practice is banned in Australia for product advertisements, but can be used to promote station programming, and Ten has opted to use the gimmick.
But not all like the idea -- such as dedicated TV viewer Chris Townshend, a Randwick sailing instructor who said it was insulting.
"There was a really good scene on Raymond last Thursday and suddenly this X logo flashed on," he said.
"It completely ruined the scene's continuity -- when an ad's on, an ad's on but why try to bulls..t you with subliminal stuff during a show?
"It ruined the scene and it was an insult. They might have thought it was cool, but this subliminal stuff has been around since The Young Ones and it just looks stupid when they seriously try it on."
Mid-1980s UK satire The Young Ones used subliminal micro-second image flashes.
A Ten spokeswoman said that The X Factor subliminal tactic was being used, but completely within broadcasting authority guidelines.
While commercial competitors Channels 9 and 7 have not used the device, Ten has good reason -- its programming line-up has few viewers.
The X Factor -- a near mirror image of Idol -- has drawn less than a million viewers in its two one-hour outings each week.
Ten's 2005 fortunes are hitched to it, but the big unknown is if people will care about the 2005 version of Australian Idol which follows it.
Ten now has three hours of talent quest shows airing per week and viewer burn-out is predicted after a dull end to last year's Australian Idol.
The reality overload could also mess with this year's Big Brother series, which will be loaded with stunts to maintain pop culture relevancy.
finance.news.com.au/story/0,10166,12464190-462,00.html