ZADZADZ was an

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on lin ...

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...

of current

television commercials A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

, featuring everything from

video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

to hair care products grouped into consumer-desired categories. After the site's successful testing phase in late 2007, ZADZADZ officially launched on January 17, 2008.

Overview

The ZADZADZ website comprises the largest collection of active television commercials online. The ads are grouped into various categories and are automatically streamed through the site's central player, depending on what

playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player, either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs that can be played once or in a loop. ...

is selected by the user. Additional functionality also exists, including the ability to sort the ads, e-mail or embed ads, and search for ads. ZADZADZ is a "Window Shopping 2.0" experience for the user because of its grouping of television commercials into relevant product and psychographic "channels". Browsing between individual channels allows the user to quickly shop and compare products and services via the ads themselves. Essentially a free site, all of the basic video database content is available without registration and without providing any personal information. Any person with an

e-mail Electronic mail (usually shortened to email; alternatively hyphenated e-mail) is a method of transmitting and receiving Digital media, digital messages using electronics, electronic devices over a computer network. It was conceived in the ...

address and a

web browser A web browser, often shortened to browser, is an application for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's scr ...

that accepts

cookies A cookie is a sweet biscuit with high sugar and fat content. Cookie dough is softer than that used for other types of biscuit, and they are cooked longer at lower temperatures. The dough typically contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of ...

can set up an account with ZADZADZ that allows them to vote on various channels' ads and engage in many other site activities. In addition to a consumer shopping tool, ZADZADZ is an advertising and entertainment industry resource, tracking and showcasing current brand/market trends, including celebrity endorsements, high-profile product introductions, and creative execution feedback and refinement.

History

Reason for Being

Founded by advertising executives Russell Griffin and Chandos Erwin, ZADZADZ was created as a response to DVR and

TiVo TiVo ( ) is a digital video recorder (DVR) developed and marketed by Xperi (previously by TiVo Corporation and TiVo Inc.) and introduced in 1999. TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose fea ...

technologies. As people began to skip ads while watching TV shows, these newer technologies allowed consumers to watch content without interruption. But at the same time, these technologies also removed a source of product information and cultural relevance from consumers. With DVRs, consumers could skip ads in order to get to their desired content (their TV shows). And with ZADZADZ, consumers could choose which ads to watch when the ads themselves are the desired content (when preparing to make a purchase or when simply staying up with cultural trends).

Super Bowl

On February 3, 2008 ZADZADZ launched a feature that enabled users to watch and rate the

Super Bowl XLII Super Bowl XLII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

ads as well as a media tool for outlets to report the ongoing results at any moment in time. ZADZADZ was quickly utilized as a resource by other web sites and users rated the ads in varying categories.

References

External links

ZADZADZ
— official website
ZADZADZ Blog
{Dead link, date=July 2025 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes — official blog Online databases Television commercials