Thinking Outside the Inside of New Technology Boxes

General Electric’s award-winning One Second Theater commercials target digital video players and MySpace users. Basically, G.E. is hiding commercials within commercials that you can’t see unless you have a digital recording device that will let you view the video file frame by frame.

The invention of digital recording devices, and to a greater extent downloading TV shows, has made it difficult to get people to see (let alone watch) television commercials. I think G.E.’s approach is fun and creative, getting them a lot of attention, but only time will tell if it works.

So, why am I mentioning it here? Because what it really does well is take advantage of new technologies. In today’s advertising market, companies that reach out with new technology look tech savvy and, by association, intelligent. When companies use new technology early and well, they appear as the leader in their industry.

Taken from Myers Media Innovation and Creativity Awards: Grand Award Agency Winner article: Description of G.E’s goals and strategies of the program.
GE once again proved its “Imagination at Work” by launching “One Second Theater,” an innovative new media campaign that, according to a New York Times article “explore[s] media beyond conventional commercials and print advertisement.” The campaign shows humorous scenes from commercials re-edited for digital video recorders, MP3 players and the Internet. The cornerstone idea included DVR users pausing a GE commercial to enjoy the aforementioned content - a commercial hidden within a commercial!
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Taken from the NY Times article: Got a Second? G.E. Has a Quick Message.
DECADES ago, General Electric and its agency, BBDO Worldwide, joined to create a half-hour weekly television series, “General Electric Theater.” Now, in a move that underlines how giant marketers are seeking new ways to reach consumers, G.E., BBDO and two other agencies are introducing an elaborate campaign centered on a version of the series that is 1,799 seconds shorter than the original.
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So, think outside the inside of the box or technology. Digital recorders/players, iPods, SmartPhones, variable data printing with targeted mailing lists, and a world of other technologies can get your message right to the customers you want.