Google makes running your company’s ads, or your clients’ ads, on national TV look easy. So easy, in fact, that it raised the suspicions of Slate’s ad critic, Seth Stevenson.
Stevenson wanted to take Google TV ads for a spin. So, Slate created a bizarre TV ad that advertises nothing in particular, and directs viewers to Vcantellyouwhy.com (in order to track visitors and get a sense for ROI).
Stevenson set a budget of $1,300 total, selected four target networks and time slots, and then sat back to see what would occur. What happened is the spot ran a total of 54 times on national television, including seven times during Glenn Beck episodes on Fox. The ad reached 1.3 million people and, of those, over 1,000 actually visited Slate’s landing page. All for the cost of drinks, or a ball game, with the client.
