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Does new TiVo ad feature make any sense?

Richard Shim Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Richard Shim
writes about gadgets big and small.
Richard Shim
TiVo has released the first in a series of new advertising tools it will be testing. The feature, a tag, pops up when viewers fast-forward through an advertisement. If viewers press the thumbs-up or select button in the half second the tag is displayed, they will be redirected to a menu presenting more information about the advertised product.

This begs the question: If I'm fast-forwarding through an advertisement, isn't that a clear indication I'm not interested in the product and therefore unlikely to press a button asking for more information?

TiVo has tested other interactive features--such as one that lets users press the thumbs-up button during a commercial promoting a show the DVR is programmed to record. That seems like a more successful--and useful--tool.