• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, May 12, 2008

Canon U.S.A.'s new campaign for its line of high-definition and flash memory camcorders showcases the high quality of the brand's technologies.

Making its debut last Friday, the effort supports the Lake Success, N.Y.-based company's new line of VIXIA HD and flash memory camcorders, which came out in January. Crisp colors in print and online ads send the message "Be HD," communicating the vibrant videos consumers get through Canon optics and other technologies. The campaign was created by Dentsu America.

Scheduled to run through July, the ads rely on bold colors and visuals to entice consumers to click, watch and read product information.

The tagline, "What video should be, finally is," not only demonstrates the high quality of HD video, but promotes fun and entertainment, says Christopher Cesarini, senior manager of video marketing at Canon U.S.A. "The ads say it's now easier to shoot and share videos than ever before with Canon camcorders," he says. "I know the phrase really gets thrown around a lot, but rich media banner ads really do allow consumers to interact with your brand."

Standard banner ads and flash-based interactive ads will appear on Amazon.com, NYTimes.com, Wired.com, Camcorderinfo.com, Google and CNET. Full-page newspaper ads run in USA Today, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Sun-Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. Multi-page magazine insertions are planned for Entertainment Weekly, Sports Illustrated, Forbes and Rolling Stone.

Slingshots and parts of pinball machines in the online ads play on the concept that Canon always hits the target. One banner ad, for example, coaxes consumers to click, hold and pull back the spring-loaded pinball lever, releasing the flash memory card. The card speeds like a pinball across the top of the page into the game flipper, which knocks it into the camcorder viewfinder in another flash-based ad halfway down the page. The video in the viewfinder shows a dog and a child enjoying an ice cream cone.

The ads start automatically within five seconds if the consumer doesn't click on them. After the ad runs, there's an option to replay. For Canon, the unique focus aims to generate word-of-mouth buzz, too. The first set of ads focuses on the flash memory card, followed by VIXIA later this month.

Lawrence Orleck, interactive creative director at Dentsu America, says the ads position Canon as the company behind the technology. "The print campaign talks about this tiny technology called flash memory cards and the amazing life stories consumers can store on them," he says. "The flash memory card in the camera is so small, but the memory of the experience with the child, the dog and the ice cream cone is larger than life."

Orleck, who came to Dentsu America from management consulting firm Digitas, has a mission to create more ways for consumers to interact with brands through conversation marketing that creates dialog with consumers.

"The most effective way to engage consumers is to give them a voice," he says. "Consumers want to know how they can get involved, what can they upload, and how will their opinion be heard. We're starting to get there."