TAKE FIVE: VIDEO EXPLODES ACROSS THE INTERNET
Good morning:
NBC announced this week they'll offer downloads of all their programming through a portal called National Broadband Co. The videos play on your computer, smart phone or video iPod. And NBC already sells some episodes of their prime time programming on iTunes.
So the swing to bring video to the Web is past it's tipping point. And a big part of this movement is terrific forms of new online video advertising.
This week I want to point out some good examples of these video ads, to show how marketers are starting to use ad units offered through online video vendors like Klipmart and EyeWonder.
Most of these ads play in a screen that's 1/16th the size of the page, enough to see the video clearly, but still keep the kbyte size of the stream small enough to get over 15 frames per second. If you subscribe to the online Wall Street Journal, you've seen these ads for more than a year, usually playing in the right-hand upper column of the pages.
If you hurry, you can see an interesting Samsung campaign which is playing out on the home page of MSNBC.com this week. It's two and three coordinated online ad units blowing video:
MSNBC home page
The good news about video ads so far is that video is being used respectfully---you usually have to mouse over the ad, either to get it to play, or to turn on the sound.
The bad news is that we're seeing a lot of used television commercials being slapped into a Web page, thus turning your $1,500 computer into a $200 television set.
There's so much more that can be done to integrate interactive applications into these units. The trick is to use video as the spine of the user experience, but give viewers lots of choices around and within the video, so they can interact with it.
Here's some of the good (and the almost good, and the not so good):
AIR FORCE "NIGHT VISION GOGGLES" This video ad for the Air Force is a great example of how video can be used as the "spine." The opening ad, a smaller unit to the side of a page, invites you to "roll over to "see what the Air Force sees." When you do, the unit expands into the page and you're in control of dashboard screen that shows footage of a night military operation. You can switch to either "thermal" or "infrared" night vision technologies. Points for interactivity, as well delivering an interesting subject well "illuminated," ---and using the medium itself to show how cutting edge the Air Force is with technology: Air Force Video Ad
BUENA VISTA ENTERTAINMENT "SIN CITY SMS" Sin City was a wild, violent incarnation of Frank Miller's graphic novel, and many of the audience who ran to see it were 18-30 year olds. So it made sense to build one of the first interactive video ads for mobile devices, delivered through that tiny web browser on your cell phone. Not only is this a cool video ad blowing through your cell phone, but you can interact with it to find out where the movie is playing near you (or rather was playing, since it's through it's theater run). Hint: you have to mouse over the ad to get the sound to play. That's using one of those "polite" features for a pretty un-polite movie: Sin City Mobile Video Ad
TOUCHSTONE PICTURES "HERBIE FULLY LOADED" Here's another decent movie video ad, designed for websites. Lindsay Lohan's latest movie has come and gone (mercifully) but while it was in the theaters, Disney ran an online campaign in Q3 to support it, with this video unit (again from Klipmart) that's pretty hard working: it's got video, and an interactive game, and a quick link to AOL movies to find local showtimes near your zip code. It's an early example of taking existing assets from a TV campaign and at least building some interactivity around it. Interestingly, Disney spent 80% of their $40,000 media buy for this campaign with NASCAR.com: Herbie Loaded
BUICK "LUCERNE" Dumb video ad campaign from Buick for their new Lucerne model--somebody told somebody to just throw up a television commercial on the Web. The only thing good I can say is that the commercial is visually interesting. Buick spent $500,000 on the campaign, making it one of the richest online video campaigns so far. (click on the little speaker icon in the lower right to hear the sound): Lucerne Video Ad
BRITANY SPEARS "FANTASY" Instant messaging is one of the most powerful means of communication between 12-25 year olds, and now video advertising has come to the IM world. Here's an IM video ad for--oh, gag me with a spoon--Britany Spears' new perfume, called Fantasy.
Two things make this ad interesting to me....and neither one is Britany Spears.
First, the ad is designed for, and delivered through, this "alternative" medium of Instant Messaging---very cool, and a great media choice for their audience. Second, if you listen to the sound, you'll notice her voice has no reverb at all. This choice works with the creative--it's all a dream, you see--but the lack of reverb also creates a kind of intimate conversational tone that works well in this very personal medium of IM (hint: hit the > play button to run the commercial:) Britany's Fantasy
With 70% of US households getting their Internet through broadband, 2006 can be the year we blow up old online advertising models of static banners and primitive animations, and get on to some very creative interactive experiences. Play on...
Have a good week----RJ
TAKE FIVE: VIDEO EXPLODES ACROSS THE INTERNET
Good morning:
NBC announced this week they'll offer downloads of all their programming through a portal called National Broadband Co. The videos play on your computer, smart phone or video iPod. And NBC already sells some episodes of their prime time programming on iTunes.
So the swing to bring video to the Web is past it's tipping point. And a big part of this movement is terrific forms of new online video advertising.
This week I want to point out some good examples of these video ads, to show how marketers are starting to use ad units offered through online video vendors like Klipmart and EyeWonder.
Most of these ads play in a screen that's 1/16th the size of the page, enough to see the video clearly, but still keep the kbyte size of the stream small enough to get over 15 frames per second. If you subscribe to the online Wall Street Journal, you've seen these ads for more than a year, usually playing in the right-hand upper column of the pages.
If you hurry, you can see an interesting Samsung campaign which is playing out on the home page of MSNBC.com this week. It's two and three coordinated online ad units blowing video:
MSNBC home page
The good news about video ads so far is that video is being used respectfully---you usually have to mouse over the ad, either to get it to play, or to turn on the sound.
The bad news is that we're seeing a lot of used television commercials being slapped into a Web page, thus turning your $1,500 computer into a $200 television set.
There's so much more that can be done to integrate interactive applications into these units. The trick is to use video as the spine of the user experience, but give viewers lots of choices around and within the video, so they can interact with it.
Here's some of the good (and the almost good, and the not so good):
AIR FORCE "NIGHT VISION GOGGLES" This video ad for the Air Force is a great example of how video can be used as the "spine." The opening ad, a smaller unit to the side of a page, invites you to "roll over to "see what the Air Force sees." When you do, the unit expands into the page and you're in control of dashboard screen that shows footage of a night military operation. You can switch to either "thermal" or "infrared" night vision technologies. Points for interactivity, as well delivering an interesting subject well "illuminated," ---and using the medium itself to show how cutting edge the Air Force is with technology: Air Force Video Ad
BUENA VISTA ENTERTAINMENT "SIN CITY SMS" Sin City was a wild, violent incarnation of Frank Miller's graphic novel, and many of the audience who ran to see it were 18-30 year olds. So it made sense to build one of the first interactive video ads for mobile devices, delivered through that tiny web browser on your cell phone. Not only is this a cool video ad blowing through your cell phone, but you can interact with it to find out where the movie is playing near you (or rather was playing, since it's through it's theater run). Hint: you have to mouse over the ad to get the sound to play. That's using one of those "polite" features for a pretty un-polite movie: Sin City Mobile Video Ad
TOUCHSTONE PICTURES "HERBIE FULLY LOADED" Here's another decent movie video ad, designed for websites. Lindsay Lohan's latest movie has come and gone (mercifully) but while it was in the theaters, Disney ran an online campaign in Q3 to support it, with this video unit (again from Klipmart) that's pretty hard working: it's got video, and an interactive game, and a quick link to AOL movies to find local showtimes near your zip code. It's an early example of taking existing assets from a TV campaign and at least building some interactivity around it. Interestingly, Disney spent 80% of their $40,000 media buy for this campaign with NASCAR.com: Herbie Loaded
BUICK "LUCERNE" Dumb video ad campaign from Buick for their new Lucerne model--somebody told somebody to just throw up a television commercial on the Web. The only thing good I can say is that the commercial is visually interesting. Buick spent $500,000 on the campaign, making it one of the richest online video campaigns so far. (click on the little speaker icon in the lower right to hear the sound): Lucerne Video Ad
BRITANY SPEARS "FANTASY" Instant messaging is one of the most powerful means of communication between 12-25 year olds, and now video advertising has come to the IM world. Here's an IM video ad for--oh, gag me with a spoon--Britany Spears' new perfume, called Fantasy.
Two things make this ad interesting to me....and neither one is Britany Spears.
First, the ad is designed for, and delivered through, this "alternative" medium of Instant Messaging---very cool, and a great media choice for their audience. Second, if you listen to the sound, you'll notice her voice has no reverb at all. This choice works with the creative--it's all a dream, you see--but the lack of reverb also creates a kind of intimate conversational tone that works well in this very personal medium of IM (hint: hit the > play button to run the commercial:) Britany's Fantasy
With 70% of US households getting their Internet through broadband, 2006 can be the year we blow up old online advertising models of static banners and primitive animations, and get on to some very creative interactive experiences. Play on...
Have a good week----RJ
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