Starting Monday, News Corp.'s Fox network will begin running short animated clips about a taxi driver known as "Oleg" during ad breaks. The character will offer up odd bits of wisdom and even chat with spoof versions of celebrities like Tom Cruise or Donald Trump. Fox hopes the clips will persuade viewers to keep watching during commercial breaks, rather than -- as many people do -- changing channels or using a digital video recorder to fast-forward through ads.READ MORE
Fox hopes Oleg will tempt viewers to stick around during commercial breaks. Watch two eight-second vignettes starring "Oleg," set to air on Fox.
"It's something that pops up that is unexpected and the viewer says, 'What the hell is that?' It may keep them around for a while longer," says Jon Nesvig, Fox Broadcasting's president of sales.
Fox is not the only network toying with the idea. What about all of the talk of product placement? What about a logo on the screen. News channels have 'bugs' all over the place, why not put a sponsored logo in the the corner of Ugly Betty? I don't think most of America would care anymore.
