Mad ave is starry-eyed over net video

摘要

Internet video? It's a mere blip in the ad market. Projected an-nual spending of just $198 million would finance barely a day and a half of ads on TV—a $48 billion business. Yet in the marketing de-partments of some of the world's biggest advertisers, from General Motors Corp. to Unilever, online video represents a golden opportunity to move beyond the 30-second spots that TV viewers so often zap or ignore. These advertisers view online video as a laboratory for new ways to connect with customers. And they're busy figuring out ways to use the Internet to transform the most powerful advertising tool in history: television. Activity is frenetic. Lincoln Mercury has ginned up online videos that have the quirky look and feel of an episode of Twin Peaks. American Express Co. ran spots directed by Barry Levinson of Rain Man fame. And Converse Inc. is drawing viewers to its site with a series of quirky amateur videos hawking its sneakers. Meantime, companies are searching for ways to grab Web surfers' attention with short bursts of video, whether it's an invitation to click on a David Ortiz home run or a banner ad featuring a striptease. Add it all together, and video ads are outpacing the torrid growth in Internet advertising, including search, which according to researcher eMarketer Inc., will expand 33.7% this year, to $12.9 billion. The biggest obstacle to growth? Not enough Web sites are configured to run video ads, so that marketers often have to book their slots months in advance.