• by Staff Writers , September 1, 2006

Interactive TV offers viewers plenty of room to get involved. This year's finalists leveraged that with invitations too tantalizing to resist.

GM Planworks

Hummer

GM Planworks: Wendy Rosinski, VP, Media Director; Chuck Voss, Associate Media Director; Kelly Lariviere, Supervisor; Uyoung Park, Senior Planner; Erin Carson, Assistant Planner; Mike Rosen, Executive VP, CIO; Lisa Capestro, VP Director, Network Entertainment; Michele Johnson, Associate Media Director, Entertainment; Mason Franklin, Sr. VP Director, Research; Diana Elezovic, Associate Media Director, Research

Modernista: Milla Stolte, Assistant Account Executive; Joe King, Account Executive; Darren Foot, Account Director; Dustin Johnson, Director of Engagement Strategies

When general motors' hummer division debuted the "baby" Hummer -- the smaller H3  GM Planworks designed a plan to target young adults climbing the social ladder. The agency hit upon an interactive TV effort that would jolt viewers from their couches and onto the Hummer site: a "CSI: Miami" episode with a cliffhanger ending. Writers scripted the Hummer into the plotline of the episode, then cut the story short at a crucial moment. Traditional ads and online promotions drove viewers to a Web-only extended ending preceded by a 15-second Hummer commercial. Site users were rewarded with bonuses: exclusive photos, extended cast bios, interviews with the actors, a tour of the set, and of course, a link to Hummer.com. The site was inundated by 1.4 million visitors; 1.1 million watched the special ending. About 800,000 stayed to watch the Hummer's post-segment ad.

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OMD

GE

Toni Racioppo, Client Communications Director; Jamie Melecio, Associate Director of Strategy; Alexis Witt, Associate Director of Strategy; John Davis, Group Director of Strategy; Scott Marsden, Associate Director of Strategy; Beam Seilaudom, Strategist; Cristina Zahka, Strategy Supervisor; Kristen Colona, Associate Director, Investment; John Hunt, Group Director; Jeff Minsky, Director of Emerging Platforms

For the first anniversary of GE's "Ecoimagination" campaign, OMD crafted a campaign comprised of one-second television buys. It played off last year's "Singin' in the Rain" commercial, leading viewers deeper into the popular content by making innovative use of new media. Viewers with a DVR could pause an Ecoimagination commercial at the right moment and advance frame by frame, learning more about Elli the dancing elephant, the truth about the flamingo twins, and the details of a peanut scandal. Banners appeared on celebrity and entertainment sites. A TiVo showcased GE's "One-Second Theater." Nearly 10 percent of TiVo subscribers viewed the GE Showcase on a weekly basis. Users averaged 90 seconds with each 30-second commercial.

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The Richards Group

Go RVing

Jennifer Cooke, Jim O'Rourke, and Ira Berger, Brand Media Team Members

Go RVing, a coalition of recreational vehicle manufacturers, suppliers, dealers, and campgrounds, might not seem like fertile ground for enhanced-TV advertising applications. The Richards Group, however, realized that long-form, interactive TV was a great way to tell the brand's story on a national scale with a relatively flat media budget. It found a solution in a most unexpected place, a platform feared by many other marketers for its ad-skipping abilities: TiVo. Since TiVo's subscriber base matches the demographics of Go RVing's target audience, Richards crafted a media strategy that uses TiVo's long-form advertising showcases. The two-minute video vignettes use a documentary-style format to extol the benefits of the RV lifestyle, including tailgating, camping, fishing, and enjoying the beach.

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