TV strategy: The optimal TV ad length

This article explores optical TV ad length, arguing that different lengths are best for different brand purposes and types of communication - and a combination of lengths, when done well, can be best of all.

TV strategy: The optimal TV ad length

Daren PooleMillward Brown

Short ads are efficient in simple message communication and in stimulating memories, but longer ads engage more and create emotional association with the brand.

TV strategy

This article is part of a collection of pieces on perfecting TV advertising strategy. Read more.

As video explodes across platforms and devices, brands are increasingly exploring the extremes of ad length on TV. Millward Brown is testing significantly fewer 30-second TV ads and many more 15-second TV ads than it was in the 1990s. Thirty-second ads may still make up...

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