Who Is Oleg?

If you tuned into last night’s “24” (and why wouldn’t you?), you met Oleg the cab driver—not in the show, but during the commercials.

Oleg was the animated character we saw during a series of eight-second bits staggered throughout the hour.

So what’s the deal? Nielsen, the research company that compiles TV ratings, is getting ready to launch minute-by-minute commercial ratings. This means advertisers will know exactly who is watching their commercials. Therefore, the networks are looking for ways to engage the audience in the commercial breaks so that they can charge the same amount for advertising they always have.

FOX, the first of the major broadcast networks to conduct this type of experiment, will be airing more of the spots through the end of the week and then will use a similar system to Nielsen’s to measure viewer engagement.

You can read all about Oleg, his family, and his friends on a VERY elaborate website at http://www.fox.com/.