If you think you’re seeing more and more Web site addresses in television
commercials, it’s because you are.
Nineteen percent of television commercials contain a World Wide Web address,
according to a new study of TV advertising by Response Marketing Group. Twenty-four percent of television commercials contain a toll-free number, and of them, 91% use the 800 prefix.
Overall, 37% of commercials feature either a toll-free number or an Internet
address, or both. “Television advertisers know the value of direct response,”
said David Greenhaus, president of Response. “After seeing a commercial,
consumers may be ready to learn more or to buy immediately. Without a direct
response mechanism, they have no way of acting on their impulse.”
The Response study, entitled Toll-free Numbers in Television Advertising,
monitored seven networks for over a month, analyzing nearly 5,000 commercials
airing during 170 hours of evening, news, sports, and morning programming.