MSN Develops Custom Ad to Launch 2003 Ford Expedition

J. Walter Thompson and MSN Collaborate on Online Ad to Boost Impact of Ford Campaign

REDMOND, Wash., May 6 - The MSN® network of Internet services, the world's leading Internet destination, today launched a newly designed, unique and highly interactive ad to help launch and promote the 2003 Ford Expedition in the United States. MSN built the custom ad product exclusively for Ford Motor Co., marking the first appearance of an animated ad on the MSN home page, one that interactively engages the millions of site visitors with a new kind of "over-the-page" advertising experience. MSN worked closely with Ford's advertising agency, J. Walter Thompson (JWT), taking its offline creative elements and integrating them with online ad technology to create a cohesive campaign.

"We designed a completely new ad with the objective of driving buzz around the new Ford Expedition," said Joanne Bradford, vice president of MSN Sales at Microsoft Corp. "Swift innovation from a technology standpoint delivered great creativity, and the huge reach of the MSN home page will provide impactive results."

Drawing upon its technological expertise, MSN custom developed an ad to integrate and enhance the 2003 Ford Expedition's offline launch campaign. To convey the Ford Expedition campaign's theme that the 2003 Expedition is totally new, the ad features a silhouette of the new vehicle dropping onto the page. The headlights start flashing, blazing faster and faster through some of the new features, until the 2003 Ford Expedition is revealed with the tag line, "packed with 123 innovations." Because the ad was developed internally, it will appear only on MSN.

MSN and J. Walter Thompson worked together to ensure that the ad not only achieved all their marketing goals, but also delivered the optimum user experience. The ad was creatively and technically designed to be very user-friendly. The frequency with which consumers experience the ad is controlled. They are able to play the ad as often as they want using a replay function, and also have the option to close the ad.