Why I love the 6-second ad
I don’t know about you, but by the end of the week, I tend to feel that my brain has reached its saturation point. In my world, communication is always-on. Everything (and everyone) is competing for attention through email, Instagram, SMS, Twitter, Reddit, and YouTube.
I’m part of a very small group of people that enjoys YouTube ads almost as much as YouTube content. Almost. I keep a collection of some of my favourite longform ads, funny ads and too-crazy-for-TV ads and go back to them often for creative inspiration.
As of late, I’ve taken a particular interest in bumper ads – 6-second ads that usually appear before your expected video. In our information overload, we don’t have enough time to sift through all the messages (ads or otherwise). If it doesn’t capture our attention by delivering its message with brevity, we’ll ignore it. When done well, bumper ads are a wonderful example of how brevity is part science, part art.
Here’s a collection of some of my favourite bumper ads:
