Ah hah! Then I realised that unlike regular newspaper ads this did not have a border. Subtle at first, it only took a split second for me to work out that it was an ad for a “Borderless” TV, but it was this split second challenge that had me engaged. In the heavily cluttered world of newspapers, this little example of media innovation was enough to arrest me, make me smile and get me interested in the new product, even when I am not in the market for a telly just now.
The media placement also added to the overall effectiveness of this marketing communications strategy. Newspapers are a highly relevant context in which to display interesting new products, and with Tiger Woods in town the golf pages would be heavily read. Also according to Morgan Plasma/LCD buyers are 32% more likely to play golf than the general population, and over 20% of them watch it on the telly, so a strong target audience composition amongst golf fans.
Great use of press, but unfortunately when I jumped on the web site the TVs displayed have more borders than Mexico! You have to dig pretty deep to find any tellies that look remotely borderless which is a bit disappointing given the cleverness of the print campaign. Perhaps a video on the site (and on youtube) showing the telly in action from different angles?
I didn’t see the ad for Borderless TV but it would have caught my eye as being “different”
The yellow stickers on the front of the Age irritate me because they cover the print.
The wrap around ads that have been on the Age lately just get removed and put straight in the recycle bin. They are an irritant but they certainly get my attention (although probably not the sort of attention they’re aiming for)
The ads that get my attention are the ones across the bottom of the page and in a different colour.
The small ads placed by various Charities,WSPA and Helplines etc. which are dotted in amongst the Theatre and entertainment items also seem to stand out and I’m not sure why. Maybe because those small Theatre items are in columns and the small ads just become one of those items as you read down each column.
by Natalie Mudgway on November 25th, 2009 at 10:53 am
It’s a nice idea for an ad and a pretty cool media play. But you’re right. Where is the alignment with the website? This campaign could have been much better if the bought, owned and earned were on the same page.
by Tamir on December 2nd, 2009 at 11:51 am