Jim Meskauskas Consultant, Meskauskas, Inc.

The Brand: Burger King
The Campaign: Sith Sense
The Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky

"The one that I found myself most drawn in by was CP+B’s Sith Sense for Burger King. That one really took advantage of what it is that the web does best as a medium, namely, interaction. I found myself spending many minutes with. It elicited true engagement with the brands (Burger King and “Revenge of the Sith”). It provided a “branded experience” which I think is indicative of the kinds of marketing that advertisers are going to be doing -- are going to NEED to be doing -- in the future. As our time becomes more restricted, the time we have gains a premium; that time spent for a delivery of an ad message is going to have to be done in exchange for something else that the audience deems of value. In this case, it was in exchange for entertainment."

Campaign Insight

For anyone who hasn't seen it, the Sith Sense site enables viewers to play 20 questions with Darth Vader, who gets assistance from the Burger "King" in guessing the viewer's selected word.

During Joseph Jaffe's "Battle for the Heart" roadshow earlier this year, Jaffe noted the Sith Sixth campaign as a great example of an "interactive experience" that transcends an ad.

Author Notes:
Jim Meskauskas has spent the last ten years working in media at advertising agencies, handling both online and traditional media accounts that ranged from Nestlé Beverage to Amazon.com to Schering-Plough. Most recently he was partner and chief strategic officer with Underscore Marketing. He is also a principal and vice president of media with Pericles Consulting, an online political marketing agency, whose clients have included the Bush-Cheney '04 re-election campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Meskauskas is also iMedia Connection's media strategies editor.