• by Joe Mandese , January 3, 2007

At a time when Madison Avenue seems to be eschewing any non-digital medium, the developer of a promising new analog ad format is putting its money where its, er, nose is. In an effort to generate awareness for tissue pack advertising, AdPack USA is offering cash and a free trial run of the ad medium to the agency that designs the most creative campaign using the packs.

AdPack, which introduced tissue pack marketing in 2004, says the medium has caught on with some major clients - including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Commerce Bank, Five Below retail stores and Lowe's - but is still relatively unknown to many major ad agencies. The contest is designed to change that, says AdPack President Steve Jacobs.

The promotion, which is aimed directly at agency creative departments, will award $5,000 plus a free 10,000-unit trial run, to the agency that comes up with the most innovative campaign - for an existing brand - utilizing the entire tissue pack, as well as an insert space located on the back.

Jacobs says the effort will also judge how creatively agencies distribute the medium. "Are they handing them out on the street guerilla style, or is this a branding campaign that is sent to a targeted list? There really are no rules when it comes to how to use this medium."

While still a nascent medium in the U.S., tissue pack marketing has already gained critical mass in other major markets, especially Japan, where an estimated four billion packs with branded messages are distributed each year.