From punching giants to fast-growing beanstalks, interactive ad on Yahoo! Movies immerses viewers in a new take on old tale
How do you psych up movie fans to watch a new film based on one of the oldest fairy tales around? For “Jack the Giant Slayer,” the Warner Brothers ad on Yahoo! Movies went all-out with some attention-grabbing rich media. Like a giant punching a hole in the page and peering through it. Or an explosion of big green beanstalks that takes over the page and then takes you straight to the terrifying land of the giants.
It’s a rousing introduction for the movie, which opens today. Directed by Bryan Singer (“X-Men”), it stars Nicholas Hoult (“Warm Bodies”) as the poor farmhand who unwittingly kicks off a war between humans and giants.
Upon arriving at the Yahoo! Movies homepage, a brief auto intro, capped at once a day per user, starts the rich-media show with a “blink-or-you-miss-it” punch through the live-page content that comes right at you.
When the live page content is restored, the ad breaks into three units---a 970x65 north banner and 300x250 right-side unit, all backed by a 1280x1024 rich wallpaper. “Click to Climb” spawns those massive stalks of vegetation that let you ascend higher into the rich media experience.
A pair of NetStream videos, a story synopsis, and photo gallery get you immersed in all things Jack and giants. The tickets section lets you look up showtimes near you via Fandango and MovieTickets.com. To deepen engagement, there’s a features section that offers three games for would-be Jacks and giants. For instance, if you're tired of being the good farmhand, try "Fallon's Fury," which lets you “fee fye foe fumm” from the point of view of the giants’ misunderstood leader.
Just as Jack opens the door between the realms humans and giants, the “Jack the Giant Slayer” custom takeover breaks down the door between an ad you merely watch and an ad you actively experience.
---Thomas T. Lady
