BMW and Mercedes test out new video formats

by Elizabeth Clifford-Marsh, revolutionmagazine.com 25-Aug-09, 09:00

LONDON - Mercedes Benz, BMW, Peugeot, Fiat and Renault have signed a deal with InSkin Media to place interactive ads around online video, games and image galleries.

Long the early adopters of digital technology, the car brands will be rolling out flash-based interactive ads which wrap around either video or images and remain visible to the viewer for the duration.

When clicked on by the user the content pauses and the InSkin ad brings up the brand's microsite which can contain video, images, and Twitter and Facebook feeds. Once finished, InSkin retreats, and the original video content resumes.

According to ComScore, InSkin ads were seen by two-thirds of motoring website users in June.

In the past Coca-Cola, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, Sony Ericsson, Cadbury's and Samsung have used InSkin ads, which appear on leading websites such as AutoTrader, The Telegraph, ITV and the Mirror.

InSkin is led by Hugo Drayton, the former chief executive of controversial behavioural targeting company Phorm.