Didja Stop and Think About This

Joseph Laszlo | August 08, 2007, 12:18 PM

NBC-U (actually USA Networks) announced today the creation of "Didja," which they describe far better than I could, so I'll just quote from the press release:

"A free online archive of current and classic television commercials, movie trailers and other brand-related content, Didja.com is a social networking destination that reinvents the commercial viewing experience by celebrating advertising as entertainment."

I fully respect the notion that the best commercials attain the status of cultural reference points, and more than that, they're art (Sony did an ad for its Bravia TVs in Europe featuring a kajillion bouncy balls in San Francisco that takes my breath away every time I see it). And sure, those greatest ads are things people might want to watch online.

But does that really call for a destination site that sounds like it's going to bury the very best amongst, well, every other commercial ever made? I'm kind of doubting it. Only about 8% of consumers said commercials were a genre of video they watched online in the past year; better than movies and traffic video, but way behind the leading genres (news clips, music videos and movie trailers, and yeah, the last one (or two) are kind of commercials, but cut me some slack).

There's industry interest around commercials of course, but that's pretty well served already, for example by AdForum.

I've been a fan of video sites on specific topics as an antidote to YouTube's catholicism. But whereas topics like travel and anime come with ready-made audiences, I'm not so sure I think commercials do as well as a standalone motivator to go to a destination.