Automatic Media: TV adverts get intelligent

Automatic advertising could mark the beginning of a future where television adverts are placed live by computer systems. A new system devised by Californian company Keystream is putting the placement of adverts into the hands of computer algorithms. The system watches the action on tv and waits for a large enough blank space to appear, into which it places an advertisement.

According to Rob Walker, author of the book I’m with the Brand, people are increasingly bombarded with adverts every day, and are becoming more immune to their effects. As a result, advertisers are looking to new types of adverts, such as embedded marketing or dark marketing – where adverts are placed into story lines within a programme. Although the idea of adverts popping up on a blue sky during a tranquil landscape shot is a little offputting, the technology could more palatably be used during sports entertainment, with adverts appearing on a clear section of grass on a football field, for example.