Unsurprisingly, iPhones Distract People From TV Ads
by Joe White
May 30, 2011
While Apple might be pretty good at creating TV ads, the company's iPhone is something of a problem for television advertisers. According to a recent study, the iPhone (and other smart phones) are one of the major distractions people encounter when watching TV.
The news comes from AdAge, in an article that hit the Web recently. As stated by the website:
The advertising industry has long been concerned about new technology that aids ad avoidance. While much attention has been focused on the impact of DVRs, new research from the IPG Media Lab and YuMe shows the real threat to attention is the smart phone and other increasingly ubiquitous distraction media.Interestingly, in a study conducted by AdAge, during a 30 minute television show 94 percent of viewers were distracted at some point. And of these distractions, the smart phone accounted for around 60 percent. In my opinion, a major part of this is down to the fact that smart phone owners (especially iPhone owners) are always "connected" to the Internet via a variety of different apps. For example, throughout the day I'm not only bombarded by SMS messages and emails - I'll also check Reeder and AppShopper at suitable moments, too. This means that, when confronted by a TV ad, I'll generally reach for my iPhone and escape into the digital realm. It's good news for us, but bad news for TV advertisers. What do you think? Let us know in the comments. [via TUAW]
