Pushbutton Extends Cobra Movie Coverage With iTV

Interactive TV developer, Pushbutton, has been appointed to create a red button element for Cobra beer’s latest TV campaign, building on the company’s sponsorship of ITV movies.

Pushbutton claims the promotion is a first in interactive sponsorship, with the interactive elements built around an image of the product. The design uses a cut out of a Cobra beer bottle, with a translucent film strip as a canvas for competition and promotional text. Full audio and video of the TV broadcast is maintained when the red button application is being used, meaning that viewers can still follow their programme whilst interacting.

Explaining the significance of the campaign, Peter Manten, commercial manager at ITV Sales, who negotiated the interactive deal, said: “Increasingly advertisers are embracing this new opportunity as they realize the unique benefits interactivity can bring. Cobra’s interactive sponsorship of the ITV2 Movie genre will provide viewers with an even more rewarding and powerful experience as well as adding value and delivering real association to the client.”

The deal follows Cobra’s £1 million sponsorship of movies on ITV2 and ITV3, agreed earlier this year. As well as covering films on ITV2, the deal also secured the first sponsorship agreement for ITV3, the broadcaster’s newly launched entertainment channel for older viewers. In addition to regular sponsorship credits, Cobra will launch ‘CobraVision’, a competition allowing winning viewers to have their own short film showcased during the sponsorship idents (see Cobra Beer Completes ITV’s Round Of Movie Sponsorships).

Amongst the content to be included in the interactive spot is the Cobra Movie Quiz, going live on 15 March. Commenting on the promotion, Karan Bilimoria, founder and chief executive of Cobra Beer said: “I am overjoyed with our involvement with ITV2 and ITV3 movies and ITV2 interactive. It’s very exciting to be utilising sponsorship in all its most cutting edge forms, and it shows ITV, Cobra and Pushbutton to be at the forefront of modern, interactive marketing. Through this opportunity we are able to engage with viewers and promote CobraVision in a striking, innovative way.”

Pushbutton has a long history of working with ITV on interactive elements, including handling the creation of the broadcaster’s 24-hour interactive portal, ITVi 24:7, designed to carry a range of services on both ITV1 and ITV2 including gaming and gambling services from Littlewoods, jackpot games based around primetime ITV programming, interactive scratch cards, slot machines and pay-to-play fixed odds games (see ITV Boosts Interactive To Run Services Non-Stop).

ITV recently vowed to give advertisers better insight into the advantages of interactive campaigns, joining forces with the BBC to promote the medium and demonstrating ways to make red button services more effective in communicating brand messages (see ITV Joins BBC To Boost Interactive Ad Effectiveness).

ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com Pushbutton: 01582 760 187 www.pushbutton.tv

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