Whilst perusing GreenBiz.com, I came across a 728×90 banner ad for Michigan, Economic Development Corporation.

It’s actually an expandable, rich media ad…which is alright. Now, I don’t really want to go into it too much, but the tagline below the company name is so small, nobody in the world can see it. It talks about a battery and charging ahead…see below.

Original:

Is this Jeff Daniels on the ad?

Expanded:

Above ad expanded; video auto-plays.

Now once it’s expanded, you get the message. By why should I go over it in the first place, why bother? Maybe they are banking on the fact that it’s at the top of the page and your mouse cursor, at one point or another seemingly will past over this 65,520 square pixel plot of screen.

Here is the landing page involved. Frankly, I don’t really care about all that. What I do wonder – is why Jeff Daniels is on the ad? Does Jeff Daniels have a high click-through rate (CTR)? I mean, it’s really the only reason I clicked it. I don’t see Jeff on the expandable ad and I don’t see him on the landing page.

Jeff D., why you there?  Is it supposed to be Joe Biden?

For a few years now, IBM has rocked, what I consider, a ‘ho-hum’ approach in its advertisements. One of IBMs earlier (maybe later) commercials I remember with this style starred an “I” superhero. “I” stood for ideation, innovation, some other things; it didn’t stand for implementation.  IBM will help you “do,” help you take action and implement changes.

The reason its ‘ho-hum’ is that it’s somewhat Wes Anderson, although I’ve never walked out on an IBM commercial (because of the commercial, its more because I want something from the fridge). Unlike Rushmore, IBM is chuckle funny, half-smile laugh with its monotone nature and droll sense of humor.

Is it odd that IBM would take a similar approach in its banner ads? I guess not, in staying with the IBM brand/advertising theme…but it is a banner ad. Normally the Bill-Murray-standing-on-a-diving-board-for-way-too-long-while-smoking-a-cigarette ads are ignored. Below are some [condensed] ads to promote their green campaigns, Smarter Planet, etc. The first is grey and its focus is smarter energy. The second is blue and focuses on smarter water management.

IBM Make Energy Smarter banner ad

IBM Make Water Management Smarter banner ad

I ran into these ads on a green news network, similar to GTAN, but better. The blue in the second ad may actually be the same color as the horizontal bars in a typical IBM commercial. Or maybe just similar. Just similar I think. The grey ad reminds me of chainmail armor.

The site the ads appeared on target businessmen/women and executives. While the chance of the message may not be the highest, branded IBM logos always attract attention. The solid color and “dead” area may actually attract clicks as well.

While the ads may not be the best at attracting clicks or eliciting action once a user arrives at the destination page, IBM can chalk it up to branding. On a side-note, it’s interesting how one ad targets homeowners and the other targets either companies or municipalities.

>> Earlier IBM green article
>> IBM green website