In its continuing effort to incorporate new technology into its advertising messages, General Electric is introducing a new ad campaign that includes one-second spots designed specifically for new
media like DVRs and social networking Web sites. The campaign plays off an old idea--decades ago the company sponsored the half-hour General Electric Theatre." The new effort has been dubbed the
"G.E. One Second Theater," and the spots will also be accessible on MP3 players. "We're harkening back to an old idea, in combination with new technology," said David Lubars, chairman and chief
creative officer for BBDO, GE's ad agency. The spots offer a humorous peek behind the scenes at recent GE commercials produced by BBDO, including some starring an elephant named Elli, who is featured
in a mock profile that can be accessed on the social networking Web site myspace.com. Longer versions of all the ads can also be accessed by viewers. GE is one of many marketers seeking new ways to
attract consumers beyond tradition TV and print advertising. Hewlett-Packard, for instance, announced yesterday that it would team up with the mtvU cable network owned by Viacom for a worldwide
campaign aimed at college students, carrying the theme "Meet or Delete," which will be found on television, online and on cell phones. Also, Adidas has started releasing a series of short films by
directors like Roman Coppola, which can be watched on hand-held devices or on different Web sites. And Wendy's International created a MySpace profile for an animated character based on its square
hamburger, which also had its own Web site
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