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 just 15 seconds.
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, said Deborah Mitchell, executive director of the Center for Brand and Product Management at the University of Wisconsin. Viewers are also watching TV streamed from sites like Hulu, where advertisers have less of a presence.
So companies figure: “Why spend money on anything longer anyway?’’ Mitchell said. “Plus, if they’re going to skip our ads, at least we have a better chance of them seeing something if it’s really short.’’
Fifteen-second ads cost about the same per second as longer ones. A 15-second ad on network TV had an average cost of about $20,000 last year, according to Nielsen.
“It becomes a very seductive thing to get your message out there at half the cost,’’ said Mike Sheldon, CEO of advertising agency Deutsch LA, a unit of Interpublic Group.
The shorter ads also mean marketers can be on the air more frequently, even within the same commercial break. During a recent episode of CBS’s “How I Met Your Mother,’’ viewers were bombarded with five ads in just a minute and a half, including two spots for Dunkin’ Donuts sandwiched around a more traditional 30-second ad for Aetna.
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 that can then be repeated many times.
Such repetition helps beat messages into viewers’ heads, advertisers say.
