Old Medium, New Mix

Image by AdAge

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If you’re a magazine reader, get ready to see something different. On September 18th, CBS and Pepsi will launch their newest marketing experiment: video advertisements in a print magazine.

That’s right. Selected Entertainment Weekly subscribers in NYC and LA will receive magazine copies embedded with wafer-thin screens running clips of CBS’s upcoming shows. Additionally, there will be a screen with an ad for Pepsi’s new drink, Pepsi Max.

According to experts, a roughly two-inch screen starts playing automatically as the page flips open. A speaker is embedded below it. Additionally, viewers have the option to start or stop the video by pressing on the screen (an essential feature considering the runtime can be up to 40 hours). The new technology was developed by LA based company, Americhip, and is considered similar to that used by Amazon’s Kindle.

The CBS Corp., PepsiCo, and Entertainment Weekly are touting the video ads as the first ever to appear in a print magazine. CBS would not disclose pricing information for the inserts or the screens, however, experts estimate the cost to be somewhere between $8-15 per copy.

While CBS and Pepsi certainly have the first mover’s advantage on this one, I’m still not convinced that the over a million dollar investment will be worth it. What do you guys think?

By Kelley Blakewood