One harbinger of the future of advertising is here and it is working out of its bedroom. Current TV is running the first viewer-created ad message (V-CAM),
a permanent feature on the network. "Transformation" is a spot created
for Sony by 19-year-old Tyson Ibele from Minneapolis. The spot features an
animated montage of Sony products morphing into one another with synthesized
music.
Sony Electronics will allow Current viewers to create at least half of its ads via V-CAM and they will add another V-CAM in the next few weeks. All spots are produced for Current on the network's V-CAM page at www.current.tv/vcam.
With user-generated content being the rage, it's high time some smart advertiser started monetizing it. Expect to see more along this front... much more. In this competitive environment, turning to the grassroots to produce compelling ads really works from an economic and social networking standpoint.
