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Facepalm: Remember when televisions were displays that simply served a single purpose – to show video from a connected source? Those glory days are long gone as evident by LG's latest tactic to squeeze every possible advertising dollar out of consumers.
LG has introduced a new initiative aimed at capitalizing on idle screen time. Native Screensaver Ads are full-screen advertisements that appear before the conventional screensaver is activated.
While testing LG's latest high-end G4 OLED set, FlatpanelsHD experienced the new ad format firsthand. The publication was shown an ad for LG's free, ad-supported streaming service – LG Channels – although ads can also feature full-screen content from third-party advertising partners.
Consumers aren't going to be thrilled over another opportunity to be shown ads, which is why LG quietly announced the new feature through its advertising arm.
Dave Rudnick, CTO of LG Ad Solutions, said that in the past, a screensaver ad might have indicated that viewers had left the room, but today's viewing habits are much different. According to Rudnick, 93 percent of viewers are now multitasking – simultaneously engaging in other activities like shopping, browsing social media, or playing games on their phones while watching television.
This, Rudnick said, is a valuable opportunity for brands to be "front and center on the largest screen in the room."
The payoff for advertisers is reportedly there, too. LG cited data from a study conducted by Lucid showing a 2.9 percentage point lift in brand awareness. The study also noted a 16.2 percent lift in brand awareness for women with a household income above $80,000, and a 19.7 percentage point lift in brand consideration for adults over the age of 45.
Fortunately, the feature can be disabled by going into the settings, navigating to additional settings, and toggling the "Screen Saver Promotion" option. No word yet on which other sets aside from the G4 OLED that FlatpanelsHD tested utilize the new format.
Personally, I'd gladly give up smart functionality and Internet connectivity if it meant TVs could go back to just being TVs again.