The ailing TV commercial is dead unless it gets a new media blood transfusion.

Whenever I reach the half-way mark in a rant on why digital media is the way forward, my above-the-line buddies interrupt and dismissively mutter that there is nothing like a great 30-second TVC to embed a brand in the hearts and minds of consumers.

I agree. But my argument is the TVC must change to survive the digital age and there are six good reasons why.

Ad skipping and time-shifting
Back in the 1970s, the video cassette recorder lets consumers record their favourite shows and enjoy video content outside the timeslots laid down by TV networks. The remote control and its nifty little fast-forward button got a solid workout during commercial breaks.

Today's digital video recorders -- Tivo and Slingbox, for example -- make it easier to watch video when we want. Alarmingly, they can be programmed to delete ads. Video-on demand services, including YouTube, Joost, Veoh and BitTorrent, give consumers the power to watch content without advertising interruptions, or at least minimal advertising.

The net result is, more people are viewing off-network and off-schedule content at the times when most brand managers are vainly hoping consumers are watching commercial TV.

Infinite choice and the long tail
New technologies such as the VCD, DVD and Blu-ray have made it easier to record, distribute and store high-quality video content.

The monster screens and hi-definition digital signals that pervade our living rooms have moved us into the era of home cinema culture, where the consumer has complete choice and control over what they view.

Fold in the almost infinite choice of video content available online -- Joost and YouTube, for example -- and the last semblance of the network's control over what we view has just about been eroded.

Multitasking
In many Asian homes, you will find the PC, game console and TV on at once as family members share and compete for time in front of a screen. Consumers are learning to share their attention between devices and that includes mobile phones and personal media devices such as the iPod and PSP.

Gen Y and the Millenials have grown up multitasking digital media to the point where it is embedded in their lives. They will dictate our media future, and Asia's digital hordes will lead the way.

The PC, personal media devices, mobile phones and the game consoles that will be the battering ram of change are unfriendly and impractical for the 30-second TVC. It is clear we need a new format and a new strategy.

Media snacking and attention deficit
If you take multitasking to the next level, we end up with media snacking: the consumption of different media in short bursts across a clutch of different devices. Our industry is witnessing the birth of what YouTube CEO Chad Hurley calls "clip culture": short, snappy media snippets that can be created, downloaded and enjoyed with minimal effort, yet consumed in full because of their short-form content.

It is ominous that Hurley reckons the average video on his site is 2 ½ minutes long.

It makes an uninvited 30-second spot even more unpalatable because it eats up one-fifth of my media snack.

The big screen-small screen divide
The screens in our homes are getting bigger but the screen in our palm is limited by human anatomy.

Clip culture will undoubtedly rule the world of the small screen and home cinema culture will rule the world of the big screen. Where is the room for the 30-second spot?

Co-creation and community
Anyone can create their own channel to share a library of content with like-minded individuals. The ability to rate, review, comment on, share and embed are the powerful new "station spots" that allow the best content to bubble to the surface. The new celebs are home-made. Warhol's 15 minutes of fame has arrived.

So what does this mean for advertising? We have witnessed a dramatic shift from the passive TV viewing model that spawned the 30-second commercial. Choice, control, co-creation and community have transformed TV. The only thing that has not kept pace with the changing times is the 30-second spot.

The TVC is in mortal peril, it is not dead but it is very old, very tired and very ill.

I will not propose an alternative but I will challenge all creatives and media people to come up with innovative solutions for advertisers -- not for traditional TV per se but for the wonderful new ways that we now watch video content.

There are some great examples: "BMW Films" way back in 2000, Burger King's XBox King Games, Toyota's YouTube Sketchies contests, Asia's viral superstars, Motorola's The Back Dorm Boys and the branded "mobisodes" and "webisodes" that hark back to the soap opera -- the original branded video entertainment model.

There is also the United States-only Fox-NBC joint venture called Hulu. It promises to deliver advertising-supported (i.e. free) on-demand video from the Fox and NBC libraries that dates back decades. Hulu's one proviso that is making advertisers smile is consumers cannot ad-skip. It the old model with new clothes.

The new model requires us to create entertainment rather than attach ourselves to it. The new model requires branding that is subtle, relevant and an acceptable part of the on-screen furniture. It does not have to be big nor slick, but it must be good.

John Lambie is regional digital creative director of BatesAsia.