We no longer hate (all) ads
Traditionally, people hate ads. They skip them, block them, ignore them. Yet at the same time, they spend hours consuming content created or sponsored by brands: documentaries, mini-series, TikTok virals, or Super Bowl spots. What has changed? Advertising, in order to work, has increasingly started to resemble entertainment.
Traditional advertising used to interrupt what you enjoyed, whether it was a TV movie or a blog article overlaid with a huge pop-up. Now, ads no longer interrupt; they integrate organically into stories,
cultures, and conversations.
Traditionally, people hate ads. They skip them, block them, ignore them. Yet at the same time, they spend hours consuming content created or sponsored by brands: documentaries, mini-series, TikTok virals, or Super Bowl spots. What has changed? Advertising, in order to work, has increasingly started to resemble entertainment.
Reclama tradițională te întrerupea din ceea ce îți face plăcere, fie că vorbim de un film la TV sau de un articol de blog peste care se deschidea un pop-up imens. Acum reclamele nu mai întrerup, ci se integrează organic în povești, în culturi, în conversații.
Branded entertainment: content people choose
More and more companies are investing in branded entertainment: series, podcasts, documentaries, where the story comes first and the brand appears subtly, intelligently integrated. It’s not forced product placement,
but strategic storytelling.
Long before TikTok, we all searched for Super Bowl ads on YouTube for entertainment. They were like the Oscars of advertising creativity. This phenomenon showed us that people don’t hate ads—they hate bad ads. When ads are smart, funny, emotional, or surprising, they become a pleasure.
Tot mai multe companii investesc în branded entertainment:
seriale, podcasturi, documentare, unde povestea e pe primul loc, iar brandul apare subtil, inteligent integrat. Nu e product placement forțat, ci storytelling strategic.
Long before TikTok, we all searched for Super Bowl ads on YouTube for entertainment. They were like the Oscars of advertising creativity. This phenomenon showed us that people don’t hate ads—they hate bad ads. When ads are smart, funny, emotional, or surprising, they become a pleasure.
TikTok: a laboratory for “interest-first content”
With TikTok, the media landscape has permanently shifted toward advertising that the consumer actually chooses. On TikTok, traditional ads are almost nonexistent (especially organic ones). Brands that understand the platform’s culture manage to create videos that become part of the user’s feed without being perceived as “sales.” Campaigns turn into a form of entertainment for users, and not only do users not avoid them, they share them with family and friends free of charge.
Odată cu TikTok piața de media a migrat definitiv către publicitatea pe care chiar consumatorul o alege.
Pe TikTok, reclamele clasice sunt aproape inexistente (în special oragnic). Brandurile care înțeleg cultura platformei reușesc să creeze videoclipuri care devin parte din feed-ul userului fără a fi percepute drept „vânzări”.
Campaniile devin o formă de relaxare pentru useri, iar utilizatorii nu doar că nu le evită, dar le distribuie către familie și prieteni. Gratis.
The harder part: truly understanding what topics are interesting
The idea for this article didn’t come to us spontaneously; it was inspired by one of the presentations at a recent marketing conference, which discussed the blurring line between advertising and entertainment. However, what prompted us to tackle the subject wasn’t the theory, but a moment of unintentional humor: while a speaker was explaining how “today’s ads are no longer ads,” they gave as an example three music videos produced by the agency they represented.
Theoretically, they were branded entertainment. In practice, they worked as a brutal reminder of old-fashioned TV commercials: long, predictable, and boring. We all sat for 5–10 minutes, eyes stolen by our phones, yawning in boredom. It was the kind of demonstration that unintentionally becomes a counterexample: proof that it’s not enough to say you’re doing entertainment you actually
have to be entertaining.
Ideea acestui articol nu ne-a venit spontan, a fost inspirată de una dintre prezentările de la o conferință recentă de marketing, unde s-a discutat chiar despre dispariția graniței dintre publicitate și entertainment.
Totuși, ceea ce ne-a determinat să abordăm subiectul nu a fost teoria, ci un moment de umor involuntar: în timp ce un vorbitor explica cum „reclamele de azi nu mai sunt reclame”, ne-a dat ca exemplu trei spoturi muzicale realizate de agenția pe care o reprezenta.
At the same time, it’s worth noting that audience interest cannot be won through humor or aesthetics alone. In an
era where brands are perceived as cultural actors
, timing and message become just as
important as form.
Teoretic, erau branded entertainment. Practic, au funcționat ca un reminder brutal al reclamei televizate de odinioară: lungi, previzibile și plictisitoare. Am stat toți, timp de 5-10 minute, cu ochii furați spre telefoane, căscând plictisiți, A fost genul de demonstrație care devine, fără să vrea, un contraexemplu: dovada că nu e suficient să spui că faci entertainment, trebuie să și fie entertaining.
Engaging in publicly debated topics also comes with a serious risk of eroding authenticity. A poorly calibrated message can come across as opportunistic or hypocritical. A brand that has ignored sensitive issues for decades cannot suddenly become the voice of a revolution overnight. Yet staying on the sidelines indefinitely in a world that constantly takes a stand means gradually marginalizing yourself.
For marketing agencies, these are far from comfortable times. A well-planned posting calendar, scheduled campaigns, and a couple of brainstorming sessions per month are no longer enough. Today, you need one eye on trends, another on TikTok, one ear on pop culture, and another on social and political debates. Audience emotions are volatile, and advertising consumers don’t just want to laugh—they want meaning, impact, and virality.
Totodată, e de notat faptul că interesul publicului nu poate fi câștigat doar prin umor sau estetică. În era în care brandurile sunt percepute ca actori culturali, momentul și mesajul devin la fel de importante ca forma. Nu mai vorbim doar despre „distracție” și „trenduri”, ci și despre implicare în subiecte cu miză reală, de la alegeri politice la mișcări sociale sau crize umanitare. A apărut o presiune ca brandurile (în special cele consacrate) să ia poziție. Dar odată cu oportunitatea vine și riscul: orice declarație poate polariza, orice absență poate fi interpretată, iar orice greșeală poate deveni virală.
Engaging in publicly debated topics also comes with a serious risk of eroding authenticity. A poorly calibrated message can come across as opportunistic or hypocritical. A brand that has ignored sensitive issues for decades cannot suddenly become the voice of a revolution overnight. Yet staying on the sidelines indefinitely in a world that constantly takes a stand means gradually marginalizing yourself.
For marketing agencies, these are far from comfortable times. A well-planned posting calendar, scheduled campaigns, and a couple of brainstorming sessions per month are no longer enough. Today, you need one eye on trends, another on TikTok, one ear on pop culture, and another on social and political debates. Audience emotions are volatile, and advertising consumers don’t just want to laugh—they want meaning, impact, and virality.