Like some of those controversial presidential campaign spots that sometimes get far more attention when they’re covered in the news rather than seen in paid time slots, that 30-second Toshiba ad touting HD DVD discs and Toshiba’s $150 HD DVD player apparently was not aired nationally during the Super Bowl (HD Notebook, Jan. 30, 2008).
The spot, which purportedly was going to set back Toshiba back a guesstimated $2.7 million for one airing, was carried by Fox affiliates in several markets (not yet specified) and wasn’t even a new commercial. It had been airing for much of the preceding football season, according to High-Def Digest and other Web sites, where a group of young guys who finish watching a football game then pop an HD DVD disc into a Toshiba player and start to watch an action scene from “The Bourne Ultimatum,” which nearly knocks them out of their seats.
Exactly what impact, if any, the placement of one ad might have (nationally, or limited to some markets), is anyone’s guess. But some online forums for next-gen disc enthusiasts took note that Toshiba did not bother to produce a new ad for Super Bowl viewers (a fact that may, or may not, be significant when it comes to future plans).
Other than this post-bowl ripple, all has been quiet on the next-gen disc front this week, so far, in a war that is not yet over.
