• by Staff Writers , September 1, 2006

Consumers have more control than ever over their TV viewing, and many have cut out commercials entirely. These campaigns defied those odds with savvy buys and visually arresting spots that held viewers' attention.

AOL

AOL

Initiative Media: Tim Spengler, EVP, Director National Broadcast; Alan Cohen, EVP, Managing Director Initiative Innovations; Faith Campbell, VP, National Broadcast Director; Rachel Schlanger, National Broadcast Supervisor; Jay de la Cruz, VP, Account Director

AOL: Richard Taylor, SVP, Brand Marketing; Pam Dickey, Executive Director, Brand Advertising; Lisa Schneider, Senior Manager, Brand Advertising

Initiative and client AOL took on perhaps the biggest threat to the effectiveness of television advertising and simply outsmarted it. Initiative realized that the typical DVR has an automatic jump-back feature, so that when a viewer stops fast-forwarding commercials, the content jumps back seven seconds. So Initiative created a quick-hit five-second spot to insert at the end of a pod, nicknamed the Pod Puncher. The agency worked with Fox and sister cable networks to secure the end space in a pod. AOL debuted its Pod Puncher in November, complementing it with a 30-second spot in the same break; ad awareness jumped 11 percent.

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Blaine Warren Advertising

Air Force Reserve

Michael Speciale, Media Director; Blaine Warren Media Department

Blaine Warren gambled on a high-impact local Super Bowl buy  a considerable six spots plus a billboard  for the Air Force Reserve, staying within the estimated $100,000 budget. With only enough to spend in one market, Blaine Warren picked Las Vegas. In addition to reaching its local target in a booming market, the agency's wise purchase landed a huge bonus: a national audience that happened to be in town. An estimated 290,000 people annually converge on Las Vegas to watch and bet on the game, including many in the coveted demographic, 18- to-34-year-old men. Touchdown!

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RPA

Honda/FIT

Sharon Enright, VP, Associate Media Director; Kae Shoji, Media Supervisor; Cathleen Campe, SVP, Director of Spot Broadcast; Lisa Pilger, VP, Associate Director of Spot Broadcast; Sarah O'Grady, Spot Broadcast Supervisor; Lisa Herdman, VP, Associate Director, Network Programming; Julie Scher, Network Negotiator

RPA introduced the subcompact Honda Fit with energetic, ultra-short bursts, opting to run three related five-second spots in a pod, separated by two unrelated commercials.

Fifteen- and 30-second ads supported the "Fit Is Go!" campaign, but the message  that the Fit is bold, fun, and city-smart  came through in the short spots. RPA built brand equity in a creative way while giving consumers enough info to take their car-buying search online, where most of the research happens anyway.

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For more information about the Creative Media Awards ceremony go here.