Method and apparatus for providing on-demand electronic advertising

Abstract

On-demand electronic advertising information is provided for items used in scenes of television programs. The advertising information is received along with broadcasts of associated television programs. Selected advertisement modes alert a viewer when advertising information is available for an item displayed in a scene of the television program broadcast. The viewer alert comprises displayed marks superimposed over the broadcast of the television program. The displayed marks comprise indicators for each item for which advertising data is available, and the indicators may be representative of the items to which the indicators correspond. The advertising information for a particular item is selected when the viewer selects the indicator corresponding to the item in which the viewer is interested. Upon selection, the advertising information is displayed along with the broadcast of the currently selected television program. The advertising information may be used to electronically order the associated item.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method for providing on-demand advertising, comprising the steps of: 
 providing advertising information for at least one item, wherein the at least one item is associated with at least one scene of a television program;    receiving  402  the advertising information along with a broadcast of the television program;    selecting one of a plurality of display modes, wherein the plurality of display modes comprises an advertisement mode;    alerting a viewer when the advertising information is available for the at least one item of the at least one scene; and    displaying the advertising information on a display along with the broadcast of a television program.    
     
     
         2 . The method of    claim 1   , further comprising the steps of: 
 providing the broadcast of a television program;    transmitting the advertising information along with the broadcast of the television program; and    storing the received advertising information.    
     
     
         3 . The method of    claim 1   , wherein the plurality of display modes further comprises a non-advertisement mode and a stored advertisement mode.  
     
     
         4 . The method of    claim 1   , wherein the step of alerting comprises providing at least one alert to a viewer when an advertisement is available for at least one item in a displayed scene, wherein the at least one alert comprises a tone and at least one displayed mark.  
     
     
         5 . The method of    claim 4   , wherein the displayed scene comprises currently displayed scenes, previously displayed scenes, and scenes that are to be displayed in the future.  
     
     
         6 . The method of    claim 4   , wherein the at least one displayed mark is superimposed over the broadcast of a television program on the display.  
     
     
         7 . The method of    claim 4   , wherein the at least one displayed mark comprises an indicator that the advertising information is available for the at least one item in the displayed scene.  
     
     
         8 . The method of    claim 4   , wherein the at least one displayed mark comprises an indicator for each item for which the advertising data is available, wherein the indicator is representative of the item to which the indicator corresponds.  
     
     
         9 . The method of    claim 8   , further comprising the step of requesting the advertising information, wherein the step of requesting comprises selecting the indicator corresponding to an item in which the viewer is interested.  
     
     
         10 . The method of    claim 3   , wherein the stored advertisement mode causes all of the advertising information for the television program to be stored, wherein the stored advertising information is recalled and viewed at a time that is different from a display time of a scene in which an advertised item appears.  
     
     
         11 . The method of    claim 1   , wherein the step of displaying comprises superimposing the advertising information over the broadcast of a television program on the display.  
     
     
         12 . The method of    claim 1   , wherein the step of displaying comprises displaying the advertising information on a portion of the display along with the broadcast of a television program, wherein the portion of the display is selectable by a viewer.  
     
     
         13 . The method of    claim 1   , wherein the advertising information is received simultaneously with the at least one scene in which the identified at least one item appears.  
     
     
         14 . The method of    claim 1   , wherein the advertising information is received prior to receipt of the television program, wherein the prior received advertising information is stored.  
     
     
         15 . The method of    claim 14   , further comprising the step of receiving timing data that links the advertising information to the corresponding at least one scene.  
     
     
         16 . The method of    claim 1   , wherein the television program comprises live television programs, prerecorded television programs, live television commercials, and prerecorded television commercials.  
     
     
         17 . The method of    claim 1   , wherein the at least one item comprises at least one product and at least one service.  
     
     
         18 . The method of    claim 1   , further comprising the step of controlling presentation of the advertising information using an electronic program guide, wherein the electronic program guide provides programming information for a plurality of broadcasting stations.  
     
     
         19 . The method of    claim 1   , further comprising the step of providing electronic links to at least one manufacturer and at least one dealer of the at least one item using the advertising information, wherein the electronic links comprise links to Web pages and electronic catalogs.  
     
     
         20 . The method of    claim 1   , further comprising the step of electronically ordering the at least one item using the advertising information.