Creative Agency: Euro RSCG
Technology Vendor: EyeWonder, Inc.
New Balance’s “For Love or Money” TV campaign poses the question: there are two motivations in sports -- which is yours? In an emotional set of video ads, coaches and young athletes are captured giving it their all for the pure love of the game -- not for endorsement deals, TV cameras or victory parades.
This is the purest type of video branding campaign: an emotional message combined with powerful and concise production. Euro RSCG wanted to bring the campaign online without diluting any of the message’s intensity. They choose EyeWonder, and the new Full Video Expandable Ad as their primary online vehicle.
EyeWonder worked with Euro to ensure their vision was maintained down to the smallest detail. The 4:3 TV spot was scaled and centered precisely within the window of the unit for maximum clarity and impact. The resulting ads are a feast for the eyes. Instant Play video elegantly draws the viewer in, which then, upon mouseover expands to a very large video and initiates the audio. When the viewer mouses off, even for a second, the video immediately contracts back to the banner and the audio mutes – an action preferred by most of today’s top publishing sites.
The campaign launched without a hitch on top-tier portals as well as specific runners’ enthusiast sites. All of EyeWonder’s Full Video Ad units are designed within site standards so no additional testing is necessary. The results of the campaign are still coming in, but the interaction data is already overwhelming. Expand rates are among the highest we have ever seen, proving that even repurposing existing TV spots can be extremely compelling -- as long as they are given a powerful setting to let their messages truly shine.
-- Jason Scheidt, director of marketing, EyeWonder, Inc.
The New Balance execution is subtle and does not stand out on the page. The incorporation of video is well done, but the call to action for the user is not enough to force a truly interactive experience. This appears to be a straight lift of the TV campaign to bring it to online. The campaign is a very exciting one in general and could be much further developed for the online space. As the campaign itself poses a question, there is an opportunity to fulfill the promise of the campaign by having a truly unique dialogue with the consumer about the nature of sport. This is a step in that direction, but needs to be taken further.
-- Cory R Treffiletti, SVP, managing director, Carat Interactive, SF
EyeWonder's latest streaming flash video ad units are an exciting new tool to add to the rich media advertising arsenal. However, while having full motion video play within the ad frame can be a nice way to cut through the clutter, the way in which it is executed and the video content that is presented can either make or break the ad. In this unit for New Balance I found it somewhat confusing that on rollover the audio for the video was activated as the unit expanded but it simply just picked up in the middle of the spot. It wasn't readily clear to me what I was watching and I really wasn't sure why I would need to rollover the unit. Perhaps a more enticing visual or copy approach teasing the user might have been more effective. I suppose the bottom line is video for videos sake in a unit just isn't enough.
-- Adam Boozer, senior creative director, IQ Interactive