The last episode of ABC Television’s The Gruen Transfer attracted 1.4 million people. It’s amazing that a show all about advertising is so popular on the non-commercial ABC.

What’s all that about? Obviously people find ads entertaining. And intelligent Australians want to be fully informed about what advertising is doing to them I guess.

My good friend and all round amazing ideas guru Stefano Boscutti pioneered this idea over 10 years ago, touring a show nationally that showcased great ads as entertainment. He proved then that people have an innate fascination with advertising, even though they profess to hate it.

This issue is one we face at SBS given we are a hybrid model of public broadcasting – we get our funding from both Government and commercial sources.

Even though it was very hard for SBS die-hards to take, I believe that introducing advertising in programs is better for audiences. For one, we raise more revenue which is pumped straight back into making more great content (content is expensive). Secondly, the breaks are the shortest and least frequent breaks on television. An unexpected by-product has been an improvement in the quality and relevance of the advertisements we carry as the breaks have become more effective and therefore more valuable to advertisers.

As a creator of advertising, I am continually seeking the best, most creative ideas to make an impact. It’s good to see that, despite their protestations, audiences appreciate that.