Coming to a magazine near you -- video, right on the page
An upcoming issue of Entertainment Weekly will include what's being billed as the first video advertisements ever in a print magazine. According to the Associated Press, a video player with a 2-inch screen will be embedded on heavy-stock paper -- similar to what's used by greeting cards that play bits of music -- and inserted into the magazine.
And as in those cards, the video will start up as soon as the insert is opened.
The first ads will be for CBS and Pepsi -- they'll appear in the magazine's mid-September TV preview issue -- but not in all copies. The magazine, which would not disclose the cost of the ads, said the insert will only be distributed in the Los Angeles and New York areas.
The video player, made by the L.A. company Americhip, also includes a little speaker. The ads will open with the cast of the show "The Big Bang Theory" joking about the video and explaining how the reader can bring up clips from the network's fall lineup. The soft drink ads are for Pepsi Max diet soda.
A preview of the ad is on YouTube.
The video player supposedly can survive binding and shipping. But can they survive librarians?
-- David Colker
I question the lack of environmental responsibility and material waste. A clever bad idea.
Posted by: Jim Redden | August 20, 2009 at 07:41 PM
is there nowhere safe from the constant bombardment of advertising overload. this is too much. just because the technology allows for it doesn't mean its good or right. you can bet people will be ripping these out of magazines and tossing them in the trash as soon as the novelty wears off, which will be fast!
Posted by: watcher skys | August 20, 2009 at 08:32 PM
For lesser minds, ubiquity is still thought of as a strategy. It's all the "news" about "the first video advertisements ever in a print magazine" that is the real campaign here. The auto-start feature with audio will wear out its welcome very quickly. Expect to see a YouTube mash-up of how people everywhere destroyed their magazines to rid themselves of this CBS/Pepsi invader.
Posted by: Jack Henry | August 23, 2009 at 09:37 AM
STOP PRESS - - - PRINT MEDIA SAVED!!!
so contrary to popular rumours, newspapers and magazines are merely awaiting a born-again experience next month.
it is even powered by a rechargeable battery - so you can watch previews of series years after CBS has canceled them!
in addition to alleviating that pesky reading problem (the ability to eyeball-scan and grok a printed page of characters inhibits heavy drinking and anti-depression med consumption, after all) this new innovation will no doubt spark the greatest revolution in print since that guy Gutenberg (if they could just bring the cost down).
i don't expect to see a video on the front page of Parade Magazine anytime soon, or even on the french Vogue.
Posted by: Richard Speziale | August 24, 2009 at 02:09 PM
This is an interesting development and if paired with other technologies such as RFID, maybe paves the road to the holy grail of all marketers: offline interactivity.
Posted by: Christian Prada | August 28, 2009 at 01:43 PM