Leslie Adams | Sales Director | Reach Africa | mail me |
Once upon a primetime, advertising had its place. It was neatly slotted between soapies on TV or nestled between the pages of your favourite magazine. Sure, it interrupted, but in a predictable, acceptable, run-of-the-mill kinda way.
Then the internet age arrived. Along with it came borderless content and collapsing licensing windows. Suddenly, if you were willing to wake up early and endure bleary eyes the next day, you could watch Game of Thrones from your apartment in Maboneng at the same time as viewers in New York. That moment sparked a global cultural phenomenon and birthed the term “spoiler alert”.
Streaming platforms took off. Content exploded. And the humble ad break began to fade as quickly as the dial-up internet tone we once thought we’d never forget.
Ads are no longer disrupting, AI is.
Now, we’re entering a new era – the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Content is more curated, more personalised and more on-demand than ever before. While we’ve never loved interruptions during our media experiences, today we have more tools to skip them.
In fact, a global study found that 65% of users will skip an ad when the skip button is available. This isn’t only due to shortening attention spans. In a world filled with endless media options, we’ve become highly selective about what we give our time to. So yes, we might skip ads on YouTube. But we’ll still binge Sirens in one sitting.
The truth is, ads can no longer afford to be disruptive. They must be intentional. They must be intelligent. And most of all, they must become integral to the viewing experience. Just as content has become more curated, so too must advertising. We now live in an age of infinite choice. As consumers, we’ve learned to filter out anything that doesn’t serve us.
Ads are no longer disrupting, irrelevance is
Our attention spans may be short, but they aren’t the problem. Irrelevance is. According to the report Ad blockers and advocacy: Why Gen Z is blocking paid ads in favour of real voices, 99% of Gen Z consumers will skip an ad if given the option.
Additionally, 63% use ad blockers to avoid online adverts altogether. This generation gives a lot of attention to what they care about, and almost none to what they don’t.
Let’s be honest. No one really wants to see ads. Not Gen Z. Not Millennials. Not Boomers. But we all want to discover something new – an idea, an innovation, a solution – so long as it’s timely and adds real value to our lives.
The message for brands is simple. Stop interrupting. Start integrating.
Ads are no longer disrupting, they offer access
Think of platforms like YouTube, Spotify, or eVOD’s ad-supported tier. In these environments, ads serve as the price of access to content. If we’re not paying with money, we’re paying with attention.
Advertising Video On Demand (AVOD) is opening access to premium content for people who can’t or won’t pay subscription fees. Meanwhile, CTV home screen advertising is capturing attention before we’ve even chosen what to stream.
But not all ads are created equal. Whether it’s a pause ad, pre-roll, brand integration, or sponsored content, there’s both an art and a science to doing it right. Effective advertising isn’t about being loud. It’s about being present in the right moment, in the right place, with the right message.
Enter AI – the future is customised
Here’s where it gets exciting. AI lets us create campaigns that adapt to the person watching. These adaptations go beyond demographics. They respond to a viewer’s mood, behaviour and current needs.
Soon, two people watching the same show may see completely different ads. Not just in terms of content, but in how they experience them. Creative will become modular. Messaging will grow more personalised. Delivery will become deeply intentional. It’s not just content that’s evolving. The platforms we consume it on are changing too.
Curated playlists have reshaped how we listen to music. AI-generated watchlists are transforming how we choose shows. Even traditional search is being reimagined by generative tools that deliver answers instead of links.
Now, imagine the ripple effect. Half of global ad spend is currently funnelled into Search. What happens when that channel no longer meets user needs, and advertisers need to find a new home?
Advertising has never been more important
Digital content is growing. It’s also fragmenting. That doesn’t mean advertising is going away. It just means it’s being redefined. In this world of limited attention and unlimited content, advertising must work harder. But here’s the good news: we finally have the tools to do it.
Technology is now on the side of the advertiser. We can design campaigns that aren’t just targeted, they’re elegant. The most powerful ads feel like part of the story. Whether it’s AVOD, branded content, or home screen billboards on CTV, brands need to show up with intelligence, not intrusion.
Because in the AI age, the best ads won’t interrupt your content. They’ll be the key that unlocks it.
