Live Internet Commercials

To promote the upcoming Jim Carey horror flic, “The Number 23,” street teams were sent to about 80 different bars and events in the D.C. area and set up confessional booths where people were encouraged to confess their biggest obsessions. The videos were then streamed live to online banner ads for the movie. The videos have also been posted onto a YouTube channel dedicated to the movie.

“The Number 23″ internet commercials are rooted in experiential marketing, an increasingly popular tactic in the real world that has marketing teams trying to generate attention on the ground with product samples or events.

Visitors to the booth last night could obscure their faces and did not have to say their names as they described their obsessions to the camera. Local Internet traffic can make streaming video arrive more slowly, and some dull or inappropriate content might have been removed.

The Number 23

New York Times: Marketers Test Waters of Live Internet Commercials