• ClickZ , Thursday, April 26, 2007 1:13 PM

Online video startup Joost has added 31 big-brand advertisers to its roster, including P&G, Coca-Cola, Nike, GM and Visa. The fledgling company is offering a series of units--from 30-second mid-roll videos to digital overlays, display ads, even widgets (embedded programs)--to these marketers on a three-month contract.

"The foundation [of the trial] is the traditional 30-second spot, which we believe is far from dead, served on a mid-roll basis," David Clark, Joost's executive vice president of global advertising said. "We're inspired by others who seem to be able to make this work, like ABC for example."

Joost is working with 20 agencies to develop upcoming campaigns for its growing user base in the U.S. and Europe. Its U.S. advertisers include Electronic Arts, Kraft, Lionsgate, Microsoft and Nestlé Purina PetCare, according to the report, while IBM, L'Oréal Paris and Nokia Nseries head its European roster. Coca-Cola, HP, and Intel will advertise globally across the platform, which is still in beta, though may now be downloaded from the company's Web site. Joost offers interactive on-demand television content from CBS and Viacom at a high-quality resolution.

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