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In Japan, Putting Ads in 'Context'
---TV Program Includes Spots / That Mingle Plot, Pitches / In Bid to Retain Viewers---
WALL STREET JOURNAL, September 29, 2006; Page B3
TOKYO -- I...Hakuhodo DY Holdings, Japan's second-largest advertising agency by revenue, and Yomiuri Telecasting, one of the country's four big TV networks, have recently launched a round of TV ads that are virtually indistinguishable from the actual show. The "context linked" commercials star the program's actors and reveal important parts of the plot. So if viewers miss the ads, they will be lost during the show. It is as if a hit show in the U.S., like "Grey's Anatomy," went to a commercial break with an ad featuring the medical drama's doctors discussing a patient from that night's episode while recommending a beer....more...
