If you were already sick to the back of teeth of the sight of Barbara Windsor or a fox tempting you from your TV and onto your computer then the latest advertising news is unlikely to inspire you.
Today’s decision by Ofcom means that breaks during films and single dramas on the main terrestrial channels will be extended to allow 12 minutes inside an hour-long period. This is up from the original seven and means that you’ll have even longer to wonder if Ray Winstone will ever get one of his score forecasts right.
Until the gambling companies go viral on in-play betting on TV shows it might be a time until we see this happening but it still has ramifications in terms of other methods of gambling such as bingo and casino companies.
As such, we asked a number of companies what the new regulations might mean for themselves.
Andy Lulham at Betfair said: “TV advertising is an important marketing channel for Betfair, and one that we will continue to utilise in the future. The extension of commercial breaks to up to six minutes in length will certainly have an impact on our strategic thinking, both in terms of the length of future adverts, and how we position them within individual breaks.”
The news comes in the wake of the UK Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) twice giving them a stern telling off for misleading advertising and marketing.
Lulham added, “March 1 sees the launch of our new Betfair Casino TV campaign on Channels 4 and 5 and, whilst the new regulations are too late to influence this campaign, they will help shape our thinking when we roll out similar commercials in the future.”
After recently delving into the advertising market with an advert featuring founder, Fred Done, Betfred representative Mark Pearson has mixed views as to whether it would affect them.
He said, “We have just had our first adventure into advertising on Sky TV and we are continually monitoring the situation and assessing the value. For us the length of the AD break is not the most important factor but being positioned near the right events.”
Another company that is no stranger to TV advertising are the old stagers William Hill, spokesperson Graham Sharpe explaining that, “While we welcome any form of innovation in advertising, we’re unlikely to change our buying strategy following this announcement on the basis that much of our TV advertising is focused around live sport rather than films and one off dramas.”
While the new regulations aren’t likely to affect anyone’s plans right away the move could be important news for many of the firms that advertise in normal programming spaces or have aspirations to do so.
