• by Shankar Gupta , November 1, 2006

The NFL Network has launched a click-to-call campaign aimed at acquiring new subscribers.

For the campaign, the NFL Network is running banner ads at sports sites like ESPN.com, Yahoo Sports, and CBS SportsLine, as well as sites for DirecTV, the Dish Network, and Verizon's FiOS TV service. The ads include a window where users can enter their phone numbers and ZIP codes, and can be connected to the satellite TV or cable provider of their choice.

The ads, which were created and placed by the agency Media Storm, are designed to encourage subscriptions by making it easy for consumers to sign up for the service on the spot. "We're utilizing a lot of online media, and the question was how do we make the online actionable beyond just a click?" said Craig Woerz, managing partner of Media Storm. "Our ultimate success here is making the phone ring," he said, adding that the ads don't require consumers to write down a phone number.

Click-to-call ad company VoiceOne provided the technology for the banner ads. That company earlier this summer created a viral ad campaign for the movie "Snakes on a Plane." That ad featured a customized phone call from star Samuel L. Jackson. While the ad campaign was a big hit online, the movie itself only fared modestly, garnering just $33 million at the box office between its Aug. 18 release and the end of October. VoiceOne will also power a campaign promoting the video game Red Steel, one of the launch titles for the upcoming Nintendo Wii console.