Advertising on Cable Television. Specifically

¶ … advertising on cable television. Specifically it will analyze several programs on BBC America during the afternoon daypart. BBC America is a unique cable advertising medium, because it includes both news, documentary, and television programming with a distinctly British theme and purpose. They make many of their own productions, and they appeal to an upscale audience of about 29,000 million viewers each month (Editors, 2008).

Watching BBC America, the viewer sees many different types of advertisements, from cars to mortgages to cleaning products. The afternoon lineup includes shows like You are what you eat, Ramsey's kitchen nightmares, How clean is your house, Bargain hunt, and Cash in the attic. These particular shows seem to target female viewers, who are the largest daytime TV audience, and they target some of the specific interests of those viewers, along with other, more general advertisements. These ads fall into several major categories.

Automobiles and Auto Insurance - the Honda Fuel Cell Vehicle, a green vehicle, is advertised on this channel, along with Kia, Saturn, and GEICO Insurance. The Honda ad was especially creative, opening in a dark set with several young men in dark clothing chasing each other with weapons, which turned out to be squirt guns. The message was changing something harmful into something harmless, the lead-in to the car. The GEICO ad featured the traditional GEICO gecko, and urged people to check rates online.

Medical aids and pharmaceuticals - Lanacane Itch Cream had a small, short (15 seconds) ad, Lenscrafters Prescription Sunglasses had an ad, geared to an older, affluent clientele who can afford prescription sunglasses, and Zirtec Allergy medicine.

Cleaners - Pledge All-Purpose Cleaner had a small, short (15 seconds) ad.

Mortgages and Finance - Countrywide Finance had a straightforward ad about refinancing for a low fee, GoldenGateway.com had a 1-minute spot urging seniors to look into the best rates for reverse mortgages, and CreditCards.com had an ad urging people to search for the best credit card rates at a site that is secure and free.

Other - Chemistry.com had a cute ad that would appeal to singles, or singles starting over, in the case of this channel, about finding the right person with the right "chemistry." The ad showed a couple interacting about things they promised to each other as they committed to the relationship. Pam Cooking Spray, short 15-second ad, and Electrolux Appliances featuring Kelly Ripa and upscale, high-performance cooktops and other kitchen appliances. Jenny Craig diet foods and centers.

As with most networks, many of BBC America's advertisements, especially in the afternoon daypart, are ads featuring their own programming. They often run promos for their news shows, and run crawlers with some of the latest headlines to be featured on the next news show. They are also promoting shows like Robin Hood and MI-5 quite heavily right now, along with some of their old standbys, like Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares. During the afternoon, it seems more of these internal advertisements show up, which makes sense, since many advertisers would rather have their ads run during the prime time viewing times, gathering more of an audience for their products. They also run small advertisements along the bottom of the first few minutes of a show after a commercial break, adding additional messages for their own programming to capture viewers.

These ads were all good examples of ads that are geared to an adult, largely female, and affluent market. They included cleaning products during shows such as You are what you eat, and How clean is your house, which makes total sense, since these shows appeal to women, and are about issues women face, like losing weight and keeping their homes clean and neat. It is clear the advertisers are narrowcasting at this point, and gearing their ads to the audience and the shows, hoping to gain the best buy for their advertising dollars. It is also clear they expect an older, or more mature audience, because these ads are mostly all traditional, not trendy, or appealing to a younger, hipper clientele.

The automobile ads appeal to an upscale audience that is becoming increasingly aware of green issues, and the financial ads assume that the viewers have mortgages and good credit, and are concerned with maintaining that credit and finding the best rates they can for their credit decisions. All the ads in this area stressed low or best rates, ease of use, and low or no fees. There were also ads, like Jenny Craig, geared directly to women and health issues.