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Marketers Turn To Homemade Ads And Contests To Capture Attention

In the latest trend to break through the clutter of advertising and engage consumers who can easily zap through television commercials, a growing number of marketers are trying to lure viewers into their web by inviting them to participate in the advertising process. The methods range from asking customers to create their own ads to offering cash and prizes for finishing TV spots to choosing which spots will run from a selection of professionally created ads. The list of major advertisers experimenting with the process is impressive. It includes MasterCard International, Home Depot, General Motors Corp., Sony Electronics, Toyota Motors and L'Oreal Paris. And it seems to be working. Last month Home Depot encouraged consumers to go to its Web site and vote for one of three 30-second TV spots, and received almost 450,000 votes. All three ads showed a couple shopping at Home Depot, apparently in the market for a new tractor. The winning ad, with more than 168,000 votes, titled "Indecision," shows the male actor taking so long to decide among Home Depot's three tractor brands that he remains in the store after it closes. "More and more consumers are choosing what messages to receive with video-on-demand and opt-in e-mails," said Roger Adams, Home Depot's senior vice president of marketing. "We want to allow consumers a chance to vote on what they receive in mass media as well."

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