Straight from the ‘Why on earth didn’t I think of that?’ file is Thumbnail Spots, a creation of Montreal-based animator and commercial producer Michael Mills. In business since 1974 creating animated ads for a long list of national advertisers, Michael Mills Productions has created a series of generic animated television spots for, as he puts it, ‘the little guy.’

Mills says he has been toying with the idea of Thumbnail Spots for about five years and finally started production on the 42 animated ads (available in either 15- or 30-second formats) last year. The purpose of Thumbnail Spots is to offer any small business owner who may be in need of an advertising boost some ready-made commercials for their operation, whether it be a pet store, garden center, courier service, dry cleaner, florist or any of the 20 campaigns featured in the first volume of cartoon ads.

Thumbnail Spots works as follows: Mills and his team produce a commercial or series of commercials for specific kinds of businesses found in every market. He then sells the entire volume of ads to television broadcasters in various markets. The broadcaster can then sell exclusivity of the spot to a small business in the station’s market area for the cost of airtime.

Mills launched Thumbnail Spots at the National Association of Broadcasters convention this year in Las Vegas and says it was received very enthusiastically. Having only started shipping out the first volume a few weeks ago, Mills says broadcasters, both in Canada and the u.s., are showing a great deal of interest.

‘It is a new concept, of course, for most television stations, because generally they are used to selling not to buying,’ says Mills. ‘However, in a lot of cases, particularly in the larger market areas, they are budgeting in the next financial year to buy Thumbnail Spots.’

The spots come without strings once purchased, harboring no hidden costs or limitations on usage. Mills says because the ads are animated, an added appeal is that there are no residuals.

When sold by a broadcaster or cable company to a client, it is the responsibility of the station to add in the client’s logo and a voice-over to make it look like a customized commercial. For the sake of continuity, Thumbnail Spots also offer promotional and point-of-sale materials, including posters and price tags (when applicable), to businesses purchasing spots. Mills says although Thumbnail Spots will not pay for the printing, it will supply all of the camera-ready artwork.

Mills and company are currently at work on the next set of Thumbnail Spots, which will include generic ‘Your name here’ ads for fitness centres, sports stores and computer outlets.