• Advertising Age, Thursday, April 23, 2009 9:33 AM

NBC and Home Depot have crafted an intriguing ad break that offers a weekend weather forecast as a means of grabbing viewers' attention. The longer-than-usual commercial segments tell viewers Home Depot is sponsoring a weekend weather forecast. The segment then moves to the weather outlook, and, finally, suggests viewers consider home-improvement projects.

The idea requires weather personnel to tape a forecast in the afternoon leading up to when the ads run. In some cases, a forecaster from the Weather Channel, which NBC Universal and two partners purchased in September, offers a regional weekend forecast. In others, a weather personality from one of 50 NBC local affiliate stations talks about whether Saturday will see sunny skies or rain.

A couple of spots will air on NBC each week for five weeks, starting last Thursday, says George Newi, group director for Initiative, which helped arrange the commercials. The project is the latest example of how complicated it can be to make customized TV commercials that stand apart from the rest of the 30-second pack.

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