Some ATMs Dispensing Ads Along With Cash

Advertising is coming to the really small screen. Beginning today, 15-second commercials will appear on some automated teller machines in San Diego while the machines process transactions.

Ads for Nissan vehicles and 20th Century Fox movies will play on the screens of specially rigged ATMs in 165 7-Eleven stores in San Diego. The company that operates the machines, Texas-based Electronic Data Systems, plans to test the ads through February.

The ATMs are the latest example of how far advertisers will go to grab consumers’ attention. Having plastered their names on athletic stadiums and stamped their logos on theater tickets, advertisers are exploring unclaimed territory on ATMs.

How consumers respond to the ads remains to be seen. USC marketing professor Michael Kamins thinks consumers are likely to tune them out.

“You have to be extremely creative to stand out,” Kamins said. “I think consumers [will] want to get their money and get out” of the store.

Advertisers are optimistic. Marc Weinstock, director of marketing for Fox Searchlight Pictures, said ATM ads are a way to reach busy consumers who might not notice ads in other media. What’s more, he said, ATM commercials are considerably cheaper than conventional advertising.

“It’s a viable way to make an impression” on consumers, he said.

Weinstock said Fox plans to run commercials for two films--”The Ice Storm,” a new release, and “The Full Monty,” a film that opened earlier this fall and is no longer being advertised on TV. Weinstock said box-office receipts in San Diego will provide clues as to how the ATM spots are working.

Retailers that provide the machines see them as an opportunity. 7-Eleven can play pitches for Slurpees and other items on the ATM screens, offering daily specials to ATM users.

EDS came up with the idea to help it sell its services. The company operates 6,000 ATMs nationwide, with 4,000 of those inside 7-Eleven stores.

“We view this as something that will break us out of the pack” of other companies that provide ATMs, said Don Jarecki, business manager for EDS consumer network services.

Dale Dentlinger, EDS director of product management, said the company studied the concept before arranging the 7-Eleven test program. He said participants in focus groups described the ads as “a pleasant distraction.”

But Kamins said such distractions may be inappropriate at outdoor ATM sites where security is an issue. He said consumers should focus on their surroundings, not an ad.