Examining, if not completely understanding, the mass appeal of NBC's Friends

Rob Walker has written another good Number 1 article in Slate, this one on Friends' ad rates. Walker makes the point that "mass still matters" in the fragmented media marketplace and, in fact, that mass matters even more now that programs with mass appeal are scarce.

(I'm sure mass has some efficiencies, too. Buying one 30 second spot on Friends is an easier way reach 18 million households than buying spots on 18 different shows that reach a million households each.)

Friends seems to be approaching a kind of critical mass. It commands roughly double the ad rate of CSI even though CSI delivers about the same number of households (here's the rate survey data in PDF form, and lask week's Neilsen Ratings). The "being a part of something" phenomenon mentioned in the article partly explains this--not completely unlike Superbowl half-time ads, or Seinfeld ten years ago. Though it is kind of amazing that the water-cooler factor could inflate ad costs that much.

The boardroom cachet of advertising on Friends--or any other massively popular show--also can't be underestimated. We recently ran TV ads (within Alberta) during the season premieres of Friends and Survivor, and there were many satisfied nods at our meeting the following morning. Would we have been as happy with a media buy that had the same results, but placed our ads on CSI: Miama, Will & Grace and Scrubs (all top-10 shows last week)? No way.

Rob Walker's web site is also worth a visit.