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Pepsi and GE make the move to online marketing
Pepsi and General Electric (GE), two major firms known for their traditional approaches to advertising, are venturing into the rapidly-expanding world of online advertising.Pepsi-Cola North America is launching online commercials for its Mountain Dew MDX drink that have appeared on YouTube, and that feature extracts from cult TV shows like Futurama, the New York Times reports.
The initiative blurs the lines between consumer and producer as the video clips themselves have been created by Pepsi consumers. The spots can be viewed on staysharp.tv, as well as on television.
GE has produced four humorous spots that are part of a scheme called GE's Imagination Theater. They will be posted on the GE website as well as myspace.com, youtube.com and video.google.com.
The move to internet advertising by two stalwarts of traditional media is an encouraging sign for the burgeoning online marketplace and the change in attitude appears to be aimed at capturing consumers' imaginations.
"We're always challenging our agencies to come up with new ways of reaching people in a world where they're increasingly in control of what they watch and when," said GE's global executive director for advertising, Judy L Hu.
Both companies are using agencies belonging to the Omnicom Group – BBDO Worldwide and OMD.
Pepsi-Cola has been producing soft drink advertisements for more than 100 years.
Online Advertising news posted on 14 November 2006
