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Contact: PressRED

In the United Kingdom, the phrase "press red" is common in everyday conversation, but is unknown here in the United States. The phrase refers to the red button on digital operator SkyTV's remote controls; it also serves as the entry point for interactive ads. While the U.K. is well ahead of the U.S. in iTV use, a number of U.K.-centric iTV players have begun to make inroads here.

Take London-based emuse, which boasts an interactive TV authoring software that lets advertisers create customized iTV ads instead of using templates. Emuse has powered more than a dozen interactive programs and ads in the U.K., since it entered the marketplace last year and is also likely to be working with satellite provider Echostar to develop interactive ads.

Emuse is also powering an interactive ad for a consumer package goods company, said Tim McHugh, sales manager for the Americas. Honda Diesel used emuse to create a funky ad last fall featuring diesel engines floating across a psychedelic landscape of rabbits, penguins, and butterflies - which helped attract viewers for an average of eight minutes to the Honda interactive section.

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