Magazine to run 40-minute video insert ad

Entertainment Weekly is to show the first video ad in a print publication

US magazine Entertainment Weekly is planning to embed a 40-minute video advertisement in an upcoming issue.

The special run of several thousand copies of the magazine will be limited to the New York and Los Angeles areas. The cost of the promotion, sponsored by US television network CBS, was not disclosed.

The insert will include a 2in x 1.5in screen that is said to be roughly the thickness of cardboard. The video will consist of short previews for several of the network's upcoming programmes as well as an advertisement from Pepsi.

"90 per cent of people will say they heard about new programming on television," CBS marketing president George Schweitzer was quoted as saying. " It's the first way we can get video samples into the hands of entertainment enthusiasts off the TV screen."

While the insert will be the first video advertisement to be displayed in a print publication, it will not be the first time a magazine has made use of embedded video devices.

Last year, Esquire magazine used a special embedded video screen to create the animated cover for one of its issues.
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