I’m old enough to remember a time when there were just four commercial channels on television. A time when Sunday nights were when any new ad campaign with a decent budget and ambition hit the airwaves nestled in between the daily news and some appointment to view current affairs programs.  

Fast forward a couple of decades and we are now spoiled for choice, worried about fragmented attention, and making four-second Gifs for social media.

I suppose that’s the context for the hype around Netflix’s ad product. 

Much has already been written about this, and questions loom. 

Will people flock to it?

Estimates say 10 per cent of the user base will opt for the ad-supported option. Given interest rates, fuel prices, and the general shitshow of the economy right now, that figure might blossom. 

Will it be cost-competitive?

The past few weeks have underlined Netflix's intention to position premium, with announcements about some ad deals and those eye-watering CPMs (double the benchmark for linear TV, for context). Not the news media buyers were expecting. 

Will it be a more creative medium than linear or streaming tv?

For a strategist in a creative company, this is the most interesting question. We know the ad platform will allow targeting and we expect the format will pre-roll at least. 

Now, positioning pricey is a strategic move. It’s a nod to quality and a deterrent to lower-quality advertisers. So that should mean we see bigger brands with bigger budgets. 

Does that mean the opening of Netflix to ads herald a new golden age of advertising, as some suggest? It’s Netflix after all. It’s where many of our favourite TV shows, films, and docos live - all in one place. For those of us in the ad game, it’s a secret garden we have been locked out of – a treasure trove of high-quality TV and film we’ve collectively longed to tap for some time now. 

All those times you’ve uttered “let’s X with Netflix” as a throwaway idea? Well, to some extent that’s now a reality. But is it going to change anything at all? 

Advertising will provide a new reach vehicle to a subset of the Netflix universe, but it’s unclear whether that’s going to drive bigger brands to spend more on producing better ads or just be a new medium for agencies to eke back a little more reach.

Does better quality content deserve a better quality ad? Maybe. But I’d argue true creativity is already at play here. 

Brands have had to toil and think around the limitations of an ad-free Netflix environment for years – and they’ve done it well, by working upstream to weave their products into production, developing merchandise, and so on. 

On Netflix, collaborations look and sound different.

Take Money Heist (Casa de Papel), a successful series that originated in Spain. The most present brand is Estrella Galicia beer, with 13 mentions. Or the popular Stranger Things, which features products from Cadillac, Coca-Cola, and integration with 7-Eleven. 

A recent study conducted by Cyberclick revealed that the third season of this show had approximately nine minutes of product placement per episode. Not bad.

So what’s my point?

Well, I think that parameters actually make for better creative briefs. 

They encourage us to think about how to be creative with the places, programs, and extended universes platforms like Netflix offer.

Netflix knows it’s gonna get people lining up to buy its spots. But they’ll still just be spots. The good stuff is the stuff that comes with lateral thought. The stuff that taps context and fandoms. The stuff that integrates into productions. The stuff that knows what Netflix has really achieved at its best, is a loyal program-based fanbase. 

Sure, Netflix will make a few bucks – and that’s important because we all want new shows and content. But we don’t need ads on Netflix to make better ads. Let’s instead try and be a little smarter in how we can make the day a little better for the fans and audiences we find there.