Sunday, May 6, 2007

Tivo has a new TV ad campaign?

The folks at Tivo have done more than anyone to neuter the 30-second TV spot. So it's a bit strange to me that they are investing $15 million in a new TV ad campaign.

They think that people aren't going to fast forward over the ads because they put the little ears from the Tivo icon on real human heads. Wow, that's soooo funny. Must've been a good solid ten minute creative brainstorming session there.

And they NY Times says they have two websites, but it's really one with two URLs going the same place. They're trying to incorporate some social media tools in it, but the whole thing seems forced and contrived to me.

To me, there's no question that Tivo has a much better product than cable company DVRs. What they need is a business model that's competitive in order to make it interesting. Not an "antenna envy" ad campaign that is very unlikely to generate envy in anyone...

Judge for yourself: