Buena Vista unveils interactive ad for Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The film charts the adventures of Arthur Dent, played by 'The Office''s Martin Freeman, who wakes to find out that the Earth is going to be demolished and his only chance of survival is to hitch a ride on a passing spacecraft along with his alien friend Ford Prefect, played by Mos Def.

By pressing the red button during the ad, viewers enter a site that introduces them to characters such as Zaphod Beebelbrox and Slartibartfast, a behind-the-scenes clip about Jim Henson's Creature Shop, a preview clip from the film and a mobile phone competition.

The 30- and 20-second spots spots feature a call to action advising viewers "Don't Panic! Just press the red button on your remote now!" to relate to the 'Hitchhiker''s guide motto of "Don't Panic!"

Guy Meyer, managing director of Momentum Productions, said: "The use of iTV is the perfect way for film distributors to give audiences added value, in addition to the standard 30-second and 20-second television commercials."

Robert Mitchell, senior vice-president of marketing at Buena Vista International UK, said: "Interactivity is something that we have looked at before but we didn't just want to use it to run extended trailers on television as other film distributors have in the past.

"Instead, we have created something that really offers the viewer new material, something they will not find anywhere else -- this really is interactive advertising."

Media planning and buying for the campaign is through Carat.

The cast also includes Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, Bill Nighy, Stephen Fry, Alan Rickman, John Malkovich, Warwick Davis, Anna Chancellor, Polly Jane Adams, Richard Griffiths, Steve Pemberton and Ian McNeice.

The ad is to be broadcast from April 15 and the film is released nationwide at cinemas from April 28.

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