WebTV Ads Make Surfing Look Easy

Advertiser: WebTV

Agency: Rubin Postaer & Associates, Santa Monica

The Challenge: Make surfing the Internet appealing and relevant to consumers not yet online.

The Ads: Two new commercials for WebTV present the service as an enhancement of television. In one spot, football players gathered around a TV in a locker room want something to watch after coverage of their game. They switch to WebTV and, after checking out sports reports, find an Internet site with updates on soap operas. In the second ad, a young couple watching a politician deliver a speech on TV become curious about his background. They use WebTV to search newspaper and magazine Internet sites for information and then e-mail what they learn to friends.

Comment: The spots demonstrate how consumers who haven’t felt the need to subscribe to an Internet service might use WebTV, without mentioning computers or the Internet--terms that might scare technophobes. People are shown using remote controls to operate WebTV, making the product look natural and uncomplicated. $$$