The Marketeer

CBS, PepsiCo and Entertainment Weekly Team Up To Bring Video To Print Magazines

To promote its new Fall season, CBS is inserting tiny screens in copies of the print magazine Entertainment Weekly.

Yep, that's right, you'll be able to watch 40 minutes of video and sound via a thin plastic screen measuring two and a quarter inches diagonally.

The technology is similar to the sounds chips inserted in some greeting cards. The devices were created by a company called Americhip. Each screen is hand-inserted at the printing plant.

The reader viewer can push a spot on the cardboard insert that holds the screen and watch a clip of the sitcom "Two and a Half Men." Push another to see a preview of the new crime-investigation spinoff "NCIS: Los Angeles." In addition to clips of CBS shows, the video will include an ad for Pepsi Max, which is sharing the cost of the promotion. The theme: CBS Monday to the Max.

From the Financial Times:

“It’s part of the future – a way to engage consumers in new and surprising ways,” said George Schweitzer, president of CBS marketing group. “How do you sample a drink? You give them a taste.”


Sources: Financial Times, WSJ.com and USA Today

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