CW Tries New World Of Advertising

New television networks try lots of new things. In the past that's been how their shows were shot, started new trends, developed controversial topics, and the such. But the CW is trying something new

Sunday, September 23rd 2007, 4:55 pm

By: News On 6

New television networks try lots of new things. In the past that's been how their shows were shot, started new trends, developed controversial topics, and the such. But the CW is trying something new when it comes to commercials.

They tried something different last year when the network launched. They would have sort of a minishow built around products. They were a big hit with advertisers so now they're going to expand one step further.

They are debuting "CW Now" which is a news magazine show aimed at yong adults. This will be a weekly half-hour series that will promote the sponsors' products.

The show will feature segments of what is hot in entertainment, music, technology, and fashion. But it won't have breaks for commercials.Instead, at least one of the segments will be, in essence, a big advertisement.

For instance, the first show Sunday was sponsored by Wal-Mart and included a segment talking about the midnight Monday release of Microsoft's videogame Halo 3. There are shots throughout that intertwine the release of the game with Wal-Mart.

It's a slippery subject among television purests but, if successful, this could be the way of the future.

One of the biggest reasons why this is likely to catch on is because of the increased use of video recording devices by consumers. TIVO's and DVR's can easily be fast forwarded to skip commercials and many models can be set up to specifically allow you to zoom past the advertisements.

To keep the money coming in, experts say television stations and networks must explore new methods for advertisers to get their products recognized.