Can Zip give a new lease of life to boring buttons? Interactive TV is widely available, but hasn't captured viewers' imaginations. A new channel is determined to harness its true potential

Marketing Week, July, 2004 by Torin Douglas

Have you pressed the red button recently? If so, was it for a programme or an advertisement? And was it worth the effort? Interactive television (iTV) is at something of a crossroads. Half the population now have access to it, and the BBC says about half of those use its interactive services each month.

Yet there is a danger that many of those who have tried iTV will have been so underwhelmed by the experience they may not bother again. Too often, there is no indication on the red button of what you're going to get if you press it. There's usually a long wait with a caption saying "loading" before you get there. And, when you do, it's often less interesting than the live programme that you've left.

The warning signs are there. Last week, HSBC wrote to me...