Except for instances where my internet is down, I pretty much never watch TV shows on my actual television anymore; I am part of what I suppose we can call the Hulu generation. The other weekend, I went home to visit my folks and prepared to settle comfortably back into the family room routine of TV-watching from the couch. And before long, the ever-growing rift between the different two mediums became painfully obvious. Television advertising is losing its desperate grasp on its audience’s attention, resorting to grabbing us by our ear drums or by testing our patience with grating jingles and played-out templates (freecreditreport.com, I’m looking at you.) Hulu’s approach is drastically different and considerably more innovative, and is an interesting reference point for anybody interested in user engagement and experience (or anybody who likes watching TV, for that matter.)

Case in point, as I settled in to catch up on 30 Rock last night, Hulu politely asked me first how I’d like to view my commercial segments, in one longer block at the beginning or broken up throughout the entire program. Hulu, you are a real gentleman; thanks for asking. The sheer difference in volume and quality of advertisements is also an interesting differentiator between mediums; Hulu’s ads are shorter and less frequent but, at least to my taste, better designed and more seamlessly compliment of my viewing experience. Ads on regular TV are so loud and jarring that I tune them out completely, cutting any chance for ad impression down to zilch. However, I’ll sit and watch the 30-second Cadillac commercial with that sweet Pheonix song and hell, I’ll even play the interactive game in the Blackberry commercial. Like all great social media mediums, Hulu allows me to shape my online experience and I love them for it. I can ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ ads to an actual purpose, rather than the useless screen-yelling version of ‘dislike’ that I am forced to employ with a more antiquated medium.

Aside from how Hulu has improved my TV-watching experience, it’s also served as inspiration for all kinds of design endeavors. Hulu’s lesson seems to be that if you treat your user with a respect that they’re not used to being given by the advertising community, a positive response is almost always guaranteed. So, when I’m designing a less-is-more ad on an otherwise busy magazine page or creating audience-specific portals for an interactive community-driven website, Hulu, I tip my hat to you.