Congregation Keeps Clicking ‘Skip Ad’ Before Torah Reading

Demand for the advertising space has dried up, and the revenue stream is all but gone.

Lafayette, LA, August 23 – An attempt to generate much-needed revenue amid shrinking membership rolls at a local synagogue has hit a snag, as advertisers have noticed that the congregation overwhelmingly chooses at the first opportunity to skip the commercials that precede the reading of each section of the weekly Torah portion.

Lafayette United Congregation Rodeph Emet (LUCRE) implemented a new program in the spring to bring in funding via advertising, in an attempt to counter the reduced income as older congregants die and younger families pursue lives elsewhere. As part of the advertising program, the assembled congregants are presented with a short clip before each of the seven sections of the weekly Torah reading, and one before the Haftarah, a related passage from the Prophets. However, the vast majority of those in attendance have chosen to click the “Skip Ad” link in the bottom-right corner of the screen as soon as it appears, four or five seconds into the ad. As a result, say LUCRE representatives, demand for the advertising space has dried up, and the revenue stream is all but gone.

Initially, says LUCRE president Betza Kessoff, advertisers swarmed to offer their commercials for congregants during the “dead time” between readings when the sexton pronounces blessings for the honoree who stood by the reader for the previous section. “We had everyone from Coca-Cola and Chrysler to Microsoft and ESPN making offers for that air time,” she recalled. “But not a single top-tier advertiser stayed with us through June, because every single time, our congregants would click Skip Ad, and we lost the premium rate we used to command. Now we’re lucky if we can find advertisers for Rishon, let alone Hamishi or Shishi,” she said, referring to the first, fifth, and sixth sections of the weekly reading.

The future of the advertising remains unclear, but Kessof said LUCRE would continue to look for new, if unorthodox, ways to bring in the funds needed to support the synagogue. “Rabbi [McKabbel] Shohad said to look beyond paid announcements in the weekly bulletin, and that’s what we’ve done,” she explained. “We already have the sexton announce before each part of the service what company or establishment is sponsoring it. Last week it was a local real estate agent who brought us Adon Olam; a beverage distributor who sponsored the taking of the Torah scroll out of the Ark; and a generous grant from Goodyear now has that company’s name associated with the ‘renew this year upon us for good’ passage during the High Holidays for the next four years. But if our membership keeps shrinking, it’s not a sustainable thing.”

LUCRE was established in the 1950’s and managed to sustain two generations of Lafayette Jewry, but the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the recession of the years that followed took their toll on the viability of the congregation. If that trend continues, says Rabbi Shohad, there will be no point in moving on to the advertising program’s next component.

“I really wanted to see what happens when each time a congregant turns a page in his prayer book, an ad plays – which of course he may skip after several seconds,” said the Rabbi. “But as it stands right now, that particular program is on pause.”