Microsoft's NUads on Xbox LIVE officially roll out
today, making the company's new interactive TV ad format
available for sale to advertisers.
Microsoft said that Toyota, Unilever and Samsung Mobile
USA were the first brands to develop NUads campaigns
that would appear on Xbox LIVE this fall. NUads
advertisements transform standard 30-second TV spots
into actionable experiences using the power of voice and
gesture controls of Kinect for Xbox 360.
"NUads marks the beginning of a new era for TV
advertising. It delivers the one thing traditional TV
advertising is missing - engagement," said Ross Honey,
general manager of Xbox LIVE Entertainment and
Advertising. "We developed NUads to breathe new life
into the standard 30-second spot. With NUads, brands can
get real-time feedback from audiences, making TV
advertising actionable for the first time."
Microsoft released a sneak peek of some of the first
NUads that will air on Xbox LIVE this fall.
For example, Toyota's "Reinvented" ad campaign premiered
during Super Bowl XLVI, promoting the reinvention of the
2012 Camry. Today, Toyota is reinventing that campaign
for Xbox LIVE, adding a layer of interactivity enabled
by NUads. In this version of the "Reinvented" ad, Toyota
asks viewers what they would like to see reinvented.
Viewers can then respond using Kinect-powered voice or
gesture controls. This gives Toyota valuable feedback it
can use for its next campaign.
The first NUads format to roll out offers polling
capabilities that allow advertisers to ask a
multiple-choice question during the airing of a
30-second spot. Users can enter the poll with a wave of
a hand or a voice command while viewing the commercial.
Users get a real-time tally of the answers so they can
see how other Xbox LIVE subscribers are voting, and
advertisers get real-time feedback from users to help
inform future campaigns.