Because I work “in the industry”, because I’m curious, because I have a degree in Advertising and because I love ads – I’ve signed up for TiVo Product Watch.

Basically, once the application goes through and I get all the requisite software, my TiVo will allow me to search and watch commercials from 70 advertisers on-demand. Cooking content from Kraft or good creative, longer, more informative stuff from others.

I think that VOD “commercials” are great, especially if they’re content, but this isn’t ground-breaking.

What I’d really love to see is subscriptions, Season Passes or Watchlists just like the regular TiVo service. Advertisers could describe their ads just like broadcasters do for their shows and I could see ads that spoke to me.

Maybe I could even choose to actively share some private date with TiVo – data that I wouldn’t just be giving away to advertisers – so TiVo could find commercials just for me.

Here’s another cool thing. What if those advertisers were prepared to give me (or you) special offers tailored specifically to our needs? Things like special coupons, rates, downloads or very exclusive content only for those that raised their hands as interested.

I think the true power of a broadband-connected television device that already knows my viewing habits is to marry that data with some kind of personalized demographic/psychographic information – again, I would only share it with TiVo – and have my TiVo act as the conduit for delivering to me precisely relevant marketing messages.

Which is not to say I don’t like Product Watch. I’ll watch it because I like to watch products and the ways advertisers and marketers try to connect with consumers.

But for me, the best value proposition isn’t actively surfing, it’s highly-tailored, me-centric advertising and marketing. That’s the future.

I’ll report more fully on Product Watch once I have the tool and I’ve played around with the service.

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[Via PVR Wire]