Next time you’re thumbing through a copy of Entertainment Weekly, don’t panic if the magazine comes to life in your hands.
A video player running Pepsi ads and CBS programs will be embedded in an upcoming EW print edition, according to Associated Press Business Writer Andrew Vanacore.
The ad comes in a heavy-paper package resembling the kind of novelty greeting cards that make noises. A roughly two-inch screen starts playing automatically as the page flips open. A speaker is embedded below it.
This will be the first time a video has been embedded in a magazine, say CBS and Entertainment Weekly (which is owned by Time Warner Inc.) A Los Angeles “multisensorizing” company called Americhip Inc. created the video player insert. AmeriChip also has created audio ads (Kelloggs, Mazda) and scented ads (Diet Pepsi) ads for print.
As Vanacore notes, magazines and newspapers are experimenting (at least the smart ones are) with non-traditional ways to reach an audience, breaking long-standing publishing conventions and melding content platforms.
The video ad is expected to run in the fall TV preview issue, but only selected subscribers in the New York and L.A. areas will receive the embedded version. If you’re one of those people, here’s what to expect:
In the ad, characters from CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory” talk up EW and give a how-to on navigating the different buttons that bring up more clips.
A menu of additional spots includes a clip from “Two and Half Men,” a sneak peek at the new CBS comedy “Accidentally on Purpose” and a preview of the network’s fall drama slate. There’s also an ad for the Pepsi Max diet soft drink.
The rest of us will just have to wait. I think I can do it.
