• by Masha Geller , October 9, 2001

Since the beginning of streaming advertising, many volumes have been written on the negative aspects of re-purposing television ad campaigns online. The usual argument is that the two media are so different in almost every aspect that ads made for television could not possibly amount to anything good on the web.

The Ad Council seems to disagree. A public service TV spot celebrating America's extraordinary diversity, created by The Advertising Council and GSD&M in response to the September 11th tragedy, will be spread to the email accounts of over a million Americans during the next week, thanks to resources and technology donated by helloNetwork and NetCreations.

Joe Bianco, CEO of helloNetwork, said, "Since the advertisement was encoded using helloNetwork's streaming media platform, the Ad Council will have the broadest possible reach in their email campaign to Americans."

The television and video mail PSA, voluntarily produced by GSD&M, features people of many ages, races, and religions, representing the population of this country, with each character proudly stating, "I Am An American." The spot emphasizes that America knows no boundaries in the color, ethnicity, or religion of her people, encouraging all Americans to recognize each other in unity in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

According to the Ad Council, helloNetwork's streaming media platform was ideal for this campaign because the format will reach virtually all Americans targeted for the video mail campaign without the need for any plug-ins, downloads, or player installations. When the email is opened, the streaming video mail will showcase the same commercial seen on television. The video mail will feature an option called "Send to a Friend" allowing recipients to forward the video mail to friends and family, further disseminating the message.

NetCreations donated email distribution lists to reach the million plus Americans targeted for the campaign and will be able to track the effectiveness of the video mail.