Christmas cheer or media jam?

Vass, who has just returned from a trip to Australia, observed that ad breaks on television and radio in that country ran for up to five minutes, with many more breaks in an hour than one would have expected. "For example, to watch a 90-minute movie on TV can take up to two and a half hours," he says, asking if South African radio and television is heading in the same direction?

"In reaction to the advertisement clutter, an Australian radio group, Nova, are trying something different. They run five advertisement breaks per hour, of a minute each. This means the total advertising time never exceeds more than five minutes an hour with no more than two spots in a single break," says Vass. "In contrast, some South African radio stations allocate up to 12.5 minutes of advertising an hour."

Vass ponders if as the consumer, would one not prefer to hear five sets of one minute ad breaks as opposed to five ad breaks of approximately 2.5 minutes long? And, surely an advertiser would want their ad played in a spot break of two ads only, rather than in the middle of a break of up to five ads?

"I believe this is an extremely brave step made by a group of radio stations in Australia and challenge any South African media group to take a risk and try this method. Advertisers would have to pay more, but Australian research indicates that recall of a spot in a one-minute advertisement break is a lot higher than in a 2.5 -minute break. I am confident advertisers will like this fact and I have no doubt that I, for one, would remain listening to radio for longer."