• The New York Times, Friday, September 22, 2006 12:15 PM

Teaming up with Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco, Google is producing a test of an online campaign for Saturn cars by bundling together several Google products and services, like clickable video clips, the Google Earth satellite mapping tool, and geographic findings of computer users. The project, which begins today, is designed to convince marketers that Google is not just for text ads. Visitors to a variety of Web sites in Buffalo, Dallas, Harrisburg, Pa., Indianapolis, Las Vegas, and Raleigh, N.C. will see what look like typical banner ads for Aura, a new Saturn midsize sedan. Clicking on an ad produces a view of the earth that zooms in on the dealership nearest to the user. The doors to the virtual dealership fly open, revealing the general manager, who introduces a brief commercial about Aura. After the spot ends, the general manager returns, standing next to an Aura and offering choices that include spinning the car 360 degrees, inspecting its engine, printing a map with directions to the dealership, and visiting the Web sites of Saturn or the dealer. "Google wants to prove it's an effective way to market," says Rich Silverstein, co-chairman at Goodby, Silverstein. "Saturn wants to sell Auras. And we want to show how we can tell good stories in a 21st-century way." Saturn is paying Google for the test, but the budget was not disclosed.

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