Time Inc. Eyes New Ad Apps Like On-Page Video

The Oct. 4 issue of Wenner Media's Rolling Stone sports an
impossible-to-miss lenticular ad for the Fox TV network, featuring
characters from the net's Sunday-night lineup whooping it up on a
roller-coaster ride, their images changing as the reader tilts the ad.
Meanwhile, an eye-popping ad for NBC's new series Bionic Woman that
appeared in Time Inc.'s Entertainment Weekly went one further, with
the heroine's mechanically enhanced winker lighting up as readers
turned the page.

Those executions may be just the beginning of a creative and
technological revolution in print ads. As marketers look for more ways
to capture the attention of media-saturated consumers, publishers are
exploring much more intricate ad units, up to and including ads that
feature video.

A media buyer and another industry source confirmed that Time Inc., a
sponsor of the MIT Media Lab, is working on technology and has looked
at prototypes that would put moving pictures on a page.

Dawn Bridges, Time Inc. spokeswoman, wouldn't comment on specific
initiatives. "We're looking at a lot of different possibilities in a
number of different areas of technology, but nothing that's imminent,"
she said.

Mike Maguire, CEO of Structural Graphics, a maker of high-impact ads,
has shown Time Inc. and other major publishers a prototype his company
created with E Ink, an electronic paper display company, that would
produce an animated, black-and-white image using pixels and a
coin-sized battery.

Maguire, who sees such ads as well-suited for demonstrating a new
product or change in logo, believes the concept is one to two years
away from execution. Ads showing full-color video may not be far
behind, he added.

There's certainly an appetite for such advanced ad concepts,
especially at entertainment companies looking to make a splash.

"Marketers will ask for virtually everything and say, 'Can you do
this?'" said Pete Haeffner, publisher of Gemstar-TV Guide's TV Guide.
A print campaign touting the return this season of ABC hit Grey's
Anatomy had TV Guide subscribers getting magazines polybagged with
hospital gowns.

NBC Universal has executed a number of ads that pop up, light up or
emit sounds. John Miller, NBC Universal marketing chief, likes the
units for the buzz they generate—high cost and long lead times
notwithstanding.

In addition to those negatives, production and transportation issues
are a hurdle for tech-driven ads. To limit costs, marketers including
NBCU typically limit them to the top few media markets.

Although eye-catching, some question the interruptive nature of such ads.

"You have to ask yourself, what are you in magazines for?" said Scott
Kruse, senior vp, director of print services at MediaCom. "The sell of
magazines is that they are an opt-in, and consumers have a certain
expectation of a magazine and the overall look and feel—and the big,
loud ads some consumers might have issue with. It all comes down to
the execution."

Innovative as the technologically advanced executions are, some
maintain that print messages don't have to be multisensory to break
through.

"Impactful units are being looked at more and more because of what
they add to the marketing message," Haeffner said. But, he added, "an
impact ad might not be any more effective than a contextually relevant
ad."