If you’re a subscriber to “Entertainment Weekly,” you may want to keep your eye out for the Sept. 18 issue.
The annual fall preview issue with have something new–a video ad.
CBS and Pepsi are teaming up to highlight the CBS Monday line-up–including Slice of SciFi favorite, “The Big Bang Theory”–with an ad that will feature a short video segment.
A paper-thin video player with a rechargeable chip will highlight the network’s Monday night comedies and new dramas in a co-branded print ad for Pepsi Max, the soft drink maker’s high-caffeine, low-calorie beverage aimed at men.
“This has never been done before,” said George Schweitzer, prexy of CBS Marketing Group.
The video ad will be included in home delivery of the Sept. 18 fall preview edition of the magazine in the New York and Los Angeles areas. A videoless co-branded “Monday to the Max” ad will run nationally.
The campaign was created by OMD’s Ignition Factory. The chip holds 40 minutes of video; designed by Los Angeles-based technology company Americhip, it’s powered by a rechargeable lithium battery and is designed to withstand the rigors of mail delivery.
The Monday to the Max campaign, which also includes a Pepsi-Max branded microsite, a Los Angeles premiere party with CBS stars walking the red carpet and screenings of the “Accidentally on Purpose” pilot on college campuses, is designed to spur a word of mouth movement and, of course, media coverage.
“It’s a little bit experimental,” said Frank Cooper, chief marketing officer for Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages.
“We need to find ways to engage consumers in new and different ways,” he said. “That’s the future, and you’ve got to be in that game.”
This is pretty cool. My only question is this: Is this for subscribers only, or will the newsstand edition have the ad as well?
Unfortunately, it says home delivery, which is subscribers – and only in LA and NYC. Which means the rest of us who subscribe to this magazine won’t get it.