The "V" Clock

So it seems as though people are pretty ticked off about the omnipresent "V clock" that ran in the corner of the screen for the entirety of last night's episode. I sympathize, since I can't stand any of the "cute"/translucent corner advertisements that are run during what seems like every show I watch now.

But I'm not hear to bitch and moan about it. I'm just curious as to who thought that this specific stunt was a good business idea? In effect, what that clock was saying was "Don't worry - you won't have to wait much longer to watch 'V.'" Only, no one was worried. Those of us watching Lost were tuned in to ABC for the express purpose of watching Lost - not to sit around agonizing over the wait for banal lizard people. "V" isn't the Superbowl, and Lost isn't the pregame. It certainly isn't as if the commercials we got at every break weren't ample reminder that Morena Baccarin's eerie haircut would be among us again soon.

So, the clock serves absolutely no "positive" purpose whatsoever. It is, all annoyance aside, just really terrible advertising. It doesn't cater to anyone. It doesn't fulfill a need or effectively evoke a need. It just serves to irritate people. That strikes me as being a bad marketing decision. So who thought this was a good idea? And what was the reasoning?

What do you think? Do in-show corner-of-the-screen ads bother you? Did last night's experiment in giving everyone what no one wanted send you into a frenzy of pissy Tweets? Or, like me, were you just left wondering how this was justified as smart or effective advertising?