German mail order retailer Otto and people’s magazine Gala are testing a revolutionary advertising format in Germany this Christmas. To promote the new Otto catalogue 2010, a small LCD display will be integrated into Gruner + Jahr’s magazine Gala.  

By opening Otto’s magazine insert, Gala readers will discover a very thin screen. With the help of three little buttons Gala subscribers can then navigate through various audio-visual contents. Alongside with the main commercial, other video clips with for example background information from the video shooting can be shown. The videos can be repeated as often as viewers want and even can be copied to a computer via USB cable. 

These so called “video in prints ads” were developed in a two-year research procedure in the USA. In course of the Otto & Gala co-operation vip ads will be used exclusively for the first time in Germany. Therefore Otto can extend its future-oriented and innovative way of addressing its target groups. Gala readers on the other hand will be surprised by a “wow effect” when opening the magazine and keep that special Gala experience in mind. Of course this advertising format will attract plenty of attention in the first place but if it can’t arouse curiosity later on, the high costs of this format won’t pay off. But anyways it’s a great idea to watch, maybe soon all advertisements in our magazines will move.