During the last month of 2007 my wife pointed out some interesting commercials from Vehix.com on our Comcast cable. A little box would pop up in the top left corner and contain a question, with 3 potential answers and little icons beside each one. Out of curiosity, we clicked the button corresponding to the answer we thought was correct and it took us to a page that gave us the result.

I must admit that I paid more attention to Vehix commercials to see what other questions they might have. I then came across a “call to action” ad from Vehix that indicated that I could press a button to search for cars and even though I am not in the market right now, I wanted to see what the interface was like. I did not see any other advertisers using this “call to action” type of spot until recently.

A real estate advertisement indicated that I could click a button to go to a channel where I could search for properties (the channel has been there for some time but I have never seen an ad that lead to it by clicking).

I think this trend will grow in 2008, particularly because marketers are more used to having metrics about performance thanks to the web advertising industry and these action driven ads allow them to really track “click-thrus” and solicit direct actions.2007 was filled with talk about “engaging consumers” and the impact of DVRs on ad spots.

Vehix has impressed me by undertaking this kind of campaign and I would love to know who else has seen it. I don’t know if it provides a better return on investment but at least new things are being tested.

Filed under: Advertising