Bunny's had a DVR (Digital Video Recorder) for a couple of months now, and it's gotten to the point where watching live TV (Television) is annoying, especially because of the “30-second fast-forward” button (press it, it goes fast-forward through 30 seconds worth of video). It's not an immedate jump—no, it actually fast forwards.
Now, I'm amazed that advertisers haven't attempted to make a commercial that's watchable when fast-forwarding. I timed the “30-second fast-forward” button, and it takes 3 seconds to skip forward 30 seconds of video. 10-to-1 compression. Okay, what can one do in just three seconds?
What can one do in ten seconds [1]? (for the record, I heard about that contest over a year ago) I came up with a few ideas that had an actual narrative structure, and just a few days ago, I realized I could probably do an entire Ernest Hemingway short story [2] in 10 seconds. Three seconds is more than enough for brand building.
It's just a matter of time before some advertiser tries this.
[1] http://www.tensecondfilms.com/
[2] http://boogaj.typepad.com/pete_lit/2005/07/sixword_stories.html