Tweet in a banner campaign backs Dollhouse DVD launch

Fox has partnered with EyeWonder and Moxie Interactive for the campaign to integrate Twitter in rich media ads to back the launch of season one of Josh Whedon 'Dollhouse'.

Users simply rollover the ads to reveal a screen of tweets from 'Dollhouse' star Eliza Dushku's Twitter feed.

Dushku plays the character Echo on the show and is one of 26 dolls who are imprinted with different skills and personalities before being hired out to the rich.

She takes on personas as varied as that of an assassin and a dominatrix.

Once users have rolled over the ads they are then invited to sign into their own Twitter accounts for an opportunity to share their thoughts on the show with Dusku.

Once they've passed through a moderation module, viewers' tweets could potentially appear in banner as well. The ad units also feature a photo gallery, video vignettes from the show and commentary from Whedon who also created 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'.

Mark Levien, executive director of digital marketing at Fox Home Entertainment, said: "For 'Dollhouse' season one, we really wanted to engage users and give them the opportunity to become part of the ad experience.

"Eliza already has a loyal following, so allowing users to interact with her within an ad unit makes the brand engagement that much more relevant.

"With the Twitter function, we hope to foster real-time conversation among fans of the show and hopefully give those who haven't seen it yet the opportunity to gain more insight into what it's all about."

The ads will run through August 3 on various male-targeted and sci-fi sites. A demo of how it works is available on EyeWonder's site.

Michael Rosner, senior vice president of global sales at EyeWonder, said: "We've recently seen brands using Twitter in different ways to help promote a product or service, but we wanted to take the technology a step further by giving users the ability to tweet directly in the ad unit.

"Given we wanted to launch this new rich media feature with a premier partner, we used Fox's Dollhouse season one campaign, as the social aspect of it allows people to share their thoughts on the show and drum up excitement about the Blu-ray/DVD release."