The MSN network of Internet services, the world`s leading Internet destination, has launched a newly designed and highly interactive advert to help launch and promote the 2003 Ford Expedition in the US.
MSN built the custom ad product exclusively for Ford Motor Company, marking the first appearance of an animated ad on the MSN home page, one that interactively engages the millions of site visitors offering a new kind of advertising experience. MSN worked closely with Ford`s advertising agency, J Walter Thompson (JWT), taking its offline creative elements and integrating them with online ad technology to create a cohesive campaign.
"Swift innovation from a technology standpoint has delivered great creativity with this campaign and the large reach of the MSN home page will allow for significant results. Understanding the value that this interactive element brings to an advertising campaign, we are looking forward to seeing a lot more of it in SA," says Ashika Kalyan, country manager at MSN.
To convey the Ford Expedition campaign`s theme that the 2003 Expedition is totally new, the ad features a silhouette of the new vehicle dropping onto the page. The headlights start flashing, blazing faster and faster through some of the new features, until the 2003 Ford Expedition is revealed with the tag line, "packed with 123 innovations". As the ad was developed internally, it will only appear on MSN.
MSN and J Walter Thompson worked together to ensure that the ad not only achieved all their marketing goals, but also delivered the optimum user experience. The ad was creatively and technically designed to be very user-friendly. The frequency with which consumers experience the ad is controlled. They are able to play the ad as often as they want using a replay function, and also have the option to close the ad.
In developing this first interactive ad for its home page, MSN used Macromedia Flash technology. The flexibility of Flash technology enabled Ford and JWT to determine where on the page their message would appear, whereas for most Web ads the message is confined to a specific location on the page. In addition, the use of motion in the ad enabled JWT to integrate the user experience with the overall Ford campaign. Previous campaigns on MSN have generated impressive results. Additional information is available at http://advantage.msn.com/.
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