Time for a different kind of commercial break.
Any subscriber to the ad-supported version of Hulu will inevitably encounter the usual selection of TV commercials that regularly interrupt binge-watching from “Only Murders in the Building” to “NYPD Blue.” Sometimes a different pitch appears.
This issue only occurs when users interrupt the action on their own to answer a call, have a snack, or go to the bathroom. “Need a break?” asks an on-screen graphic of Procter & Gamble’s Charmin during a break in a current stream. Toilet paper’s colorful bear mascot makes an appearance. “Enjoy the ride.” There are other ads with similar themes. An on-screen request for Hershey’s Kit Kat shows one of the candy bars in pieces and says, “Take a break.” One from Berskhire Hathaway’s Geico tells viewers, “Hold the phone.”
So-called “pause ads” – they appear just seconds after a viewer has decided to pause the broadcast, rather than every time they do – are seeing a new movement in the streaming world, with the format becoming more common since then on Hulu will be released in July, according to Josh Mattison, senior vice president of management and operations at Disney Advertising. Intermission displays are also in use at venues such as NBCUniversal’s “Peacock” and Warner Bros. Discovery’s “Max.”
As more media companies look to boost their subscriber rates by offering cheaper ad-supported versions of their streaming services, these types of commercials could become more practical. Finally, one of the main advantages of streaming is that it has fewer traditional commercials than its linear TV counterpart. The industry hopes that a break ad — other commercial “out-of-pod” experiences are also in development — can appear on screen without upsetting a subscriber who is shaken to his core by the prospect of a barrage of typical TV spots becomes.
“There are hundreds of millions of breaks that are taken for all the reasons we press pause every moment,” Mattison says. “We see this as an opportunity for advertisers.”
Others have also found ways to integrate advertising into the moments when streaming fans find themselves at a stopping point. NBCUniversal’s Peacock launched with pause ads, says Peter Blacker, executive vice president of streaming and data products for NBCUniversal’s advertising sales division, while Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max introduced them in 2022, says Ryan Gould, director of digital investments and global subscriber acquisition at that Company.
Nobody held back with the new format. Hulu has been experimenting with pauses since at least 2018, and an early version of the idea emerged last decade when Coca-Cola and Universal Pictures tested concepts with ReplayTV, an early supporter of digital video recording technology. Coke, which once used the slogan “The break that refreshes” to great effect, and Charmin, the Procter & Gamble toilet paper that can provide succor during many TV breaks, tested the format with Hulu in 2019.
It’s about a lot. Although subscribers refuse to watch commercials, more and more streamers are using advertising, knowing that they need the revenue that comes with it.
Even former staunch resistance fighters like Netflix and Amazon are getting involved. Netflix introduced an ad-supported tier in late 2022, and Amazon is expected to make advertising the default model for its Prime Video service unless subscribers spend a few more dollars per year. Roku weaves ads for McDonald’s and others into the Roku City background, which serves as the central screen of its service.
All of this suggests that ads are moving to streaming at an ever-increasing pace. A “pause ad” could help streamers expand their commercial offerings without upsetting subscribers (at least not too much). Break ads and similar ideas do not extend the break of a typical commercial break. Rather, they are simply trying to take advantage of a break that the audience initially asked for.
Finding the right balance between ads and content is crucial. “A bad experience or a lot of ad overload undermines the effectiveness of ads and is really bad for users,” said Kara Manatt, executive vice president of intelligence solutions at Magna, a media research unit of advertising giant Interpublic Group. “We’ve found in research that this may actually change their behavior. They may actually cancel their streaming service.”
Such sentiment can weigh heavily on those tasked with developing increasingly popular ad-supported streaming models. Max only allows one pause display “per user per session,” says Gould, the chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery. “It’s a very limited experience,” intended to alleviate the feeling that the viewer’s binge is crammed with advertising. Peacock offers advertisers a “power break,” where break ads are specifically designed to target specific smaller audiences, Blacker says. “It gives us the ability to customize the text, color and language,” based on data about Peacock users. “It’s one of our first comprehensive applications where we use data to create unique ads for different groups of people.”
Media companies are trying to make break ads more useful than typical video commercials. A 320-second TV spot is typically used to draw attention to a product so that customers remember it when purchasing. However, break advertisements are now also being shown with QR codes, which enable viewers to click on them to receive further information about offers or even go shopping.
While people streaming their TV favorites may not want to see as many commercials, advertisers are eager to include them in the experience. As more people abandon traditional primetime television, major advertisers like Apple, General Motors and Pfizer want to follow. “Compared to television, streaming has limited advertising time,” says Julie Berger, chief media officer at advertising agency Giant Spoon. “The buyer side wants the inventory. There’s a lot of selling out and it’s becoming difficult to get access to premium content.” The pause ads “feel unobtrusive and in some cases there’s even value for the end user.”
Pause displays could be in turmoil as technology advances. Imagine if a full-motion video ad began playing a few seconds after a person decided to pause their streaming action, or if streamers decided to give up the entire screen to an advertiser during the pause. “All of this is within the realm of possibility and, quite frankly, is doable today,” says Berger. But she believes more work needs to be done. “How about an experience you could click on if you wanted to learn more?” she asks. Max executives are afraid of making a subscriber feel like they’re facing a new delay in returning to their chosen entertainment, Gould says. “I think there are definitely interactive opportunities where you can take video storytelling further, but the creative execution needs to be clear to the consumer as they would have to switch back and forth between two video experiences.”
In some cases, pause ads have already forced streamers to stop and think. Max made sure the commercials looked slightly different when they appeared during children’s shows so younger viewers knew they were watching an ad and not more content.
The company also doesn’t use pause ads when viewers are watching something aimed at an adult audience because it fears an ad message might appear next to a scene that includes violence or nudity. Some of the elements in Max Dating’s “Naked Attraction,” which uses full-frontal nudity to determine whether a couple might be suitable, may be upsetting to viewers. Pause ads are not included.