Sound grabs attention when screen goes to black

Royal Caribbean Thursday night became the first advertisers to try out NBCUniversal’s “Must Hear TV” spots designed to grab viewer attention with sound when show segments end and the screen goes to black just before a commercial break begins.

Must Hear TV is one of a number of commercial formats NBCU announced earlier this year, The formats are designed to make advertising more effective while reducing the kind of commercial clutter that turns of audiences and depresses the C7 ratings on while ad prices are based.

The Must Hear ads will run on four NBCU networks in primetime: NBC, USA, Bravo and E!.

“At Royal Caribbean International we are known for constantly innovating. Not just our ships and our guests’ experiences, but also our marketing as well," said Kara Wallace, VP, marketing, at Royal Caribbean International. "When NBC brought us this opportunity, we knew that it was the best way to bring our new spots featuring our new private island destination, Perfect Day at CocoCay, to life.” 

When a segment of the show--selected for contextual relevance--ends and the screen goes to black, it stays black for several seconds while the sound of people having fun and enticing music plays. A super on the black screen tells viewers, “This is turning it up a notch . .. without your remote.”

The rest of the 30-second commercial unit show people enjoying Royal Caribbean’s private island resort Perfect Day at Coco Cay.

Shows used in the campaign were handpicked with an eye towards energetic scenes of people having fun, NBC said.