Xbox advertising gets underway

Microsoft has launched NUads on Xbox Live, making the new interactive TV ad format available for advertisers, with Toyota and Unilever already signing on for NUads campaigns.The new formats will transform standard 30-second TV spots into actionable experiences using voice and gesture controls of Kinect for Xbox 360."NUads marks the beginning of a new era for TV advertising. It delivers the one thing traditional TV advertising is missing - engagement," said Ross Honey, general manager of Xbox Live Entertainment and Advertising.  "We developed NUads to breathe new life into the standard 30 second spot. With NUads, brands can get real-time feedback from audiences, making TV advertising actionable for the first time."Some of the campaigns that will air on the Xbox Live this fall are Toyota's "Reinvented" ad campaign premiered during Super Bowl XLVI, promoting the reinvention of the 2012 Camry.The NUad version will allow Toyota to ask viewers what they would like to see reinvented. Viewers can then respond using Kinect-powered voice or gesture controls.For Unilever, it will place its Axe Attract for Him and for Her, and its Axe - Lynx in the UK on the format. The creative centers around a cops and robbers scenario with the tagline, ‘Nothing will ever be the same again.' Using the new format, Lynx will ask the audience if it should give the Lynx Effect to girls. People will have the option of voting ‘Yes, of course' or ‘No way' using hand gestures.The first NUads format to roll out offers polling capabilities that allow advertisers to ask a multiple-choice question during the airing of a 30-second spot as well. Consumers can enter the poll with a simple wave of a hand or a voice command while viewing the commercial. They will also get a real-time tally of the answers so they can see how other Xbox LIVE subscribers are voting, and advertisers will real-time feedback from consumers for their future ad campaigns.