Pick your ad!

           I'm an avid fan of the site Hulu which allows viewers to watch old and new episodes of hundreds of shows and movies online for free. The catch, however, comes in the form of obnoxious advertisements. The last few times I've watched a show on the site, the first ad which is played before the show can begin, asked me to choose one of three options. For instance, the ad was for a type of vehicle and 3 boxes appeared showing images of three different women with their respective names written underneath. The women varied in age and ethnicities but were each shown happily seated in the front seat of sed vehicle. My take on the advertiser requesting a viewers choice in protagonist for the ad they must endure exhibits an attempt to open a line of two way communication between advertiser and consumer. Theoretically, most viewers will choose the woman that most relates to their life, the "soccer mom" would choose the woman who looks most like her and so on. The thought process being that people will relate more closely to the product if they similarly associate with the user of that product portrayed in the ad. Secondarily, people may be more likely to listen to an advertisers message if they play a role in their ad experience. And finally, this method evokes some sense of curiosity. Combined, these three aspects of this new marketing method may be extremely effective.