ZipTV, the first interactive advertising channel, finally launched this week. The venture is backed by 11 advertisers, including Honda, BT and Unilever.
The first advert on the channel was an eight minute film from Honda, based around their Jazz and Civic cars.
“Our partnership with Zip TV is our first step in exploiting the creative potential of interactive TV and we will use these results to home and refine our future campaigns on the channel,” said Simon Thompson, head of marketing at Honda.
ZipTV works as a virtual channel that displays content when viewers press the red button on their remotes whilst watching an advert on their standard digital package.
The company is keen to stress that they will not just be offering more and longer adverts – but instead aim to experiment with new forms of advertising. Donna Barradale, managing partner at Zip TV, said: “This is not simply an extended version of the linear advertisement, but content that viewers will find interesting, informative and rewarding”.
Glad to see that Honda and ZipTV are getting on now, as last minute contractual problems threatened to delay the launch of the channel.
