Exploding banner pushes AOL's interactive marketing

by Jennifer Whitehead,, Brand Republic 26-Oct-04, 08:00

LONDON - An exploding banner ad is at the centre of a new AOL ad campaign, promoting the benefits of internet advertising along with its new UK interactive marketing division.

The campaign has been created by Lean Mean Fighting Machine and breaks this week across media websites.

It aims to demonstrate the power of the internet as an advertising medium by challenging preconceptions of what a banner ad can do. In one ad, a plain-looking, unbranded banner reads "I bet you think I'm useless". But when the user rolls their mouse over the ad, it turns red and starts shaking, before shattering into pieces and revealing an AOL ad underneath.

Dave Bedwood, creative director at Lean Mean, said: "For years, online creatives have battled against low file sizes and restrictive formats. But now there are real opportunities for online advertisements to be more than just a three-frame product shot.

"We wanted to make a series of epic banners that go beyond getting the message across in a split second, but give people the option of exploring further."

The ads are being tracked by Eyeblaster to measure the amount of time audiences spend interacting with the banner. They can be viewed here.

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