Posted 09/17/09 at 08:09:56 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Entertainment Weekly has debuted video ads in its latest print edition. It is the first print publication in the world to do so. The magazine features a very thin TFT LCD screen, which can be charged via a USB cable, to display video ads for Pepsi Max and CBS shows. The technology has been developed by a company called Americhip.

It uses chip technology to store up to 40 minutes of video content. The video ads begin playing when the page is turned. The chip technology that turns readers into viewers in the blink of an eye is said to be comparable to that found in singing cards. Entertainment Weekly has limited the circulation of this special version of its current issue to Los Angeles and New York only.

Rajesh Mirchandani, BBC News' Los Angeles correspondent, criticized the embedded video screen for being too bulky. "And when you do open up the relevant page, the actual advert takes several seconds to load and play and that's a lifetime's lag in the advertiser's world," he said.

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Posted 08/20/09 at 05:45:37 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Pepsi and CBS have enlisted the help of a Los Angeles-based company, Americhip, to deliver video ads in the print edition of Entertainment Weekly. Beginning with the September 18 issue of the magazine, video ads promoting CBS shows and Pepsi’s new drink, Pepsi Max, will be delivered to Entertainment Weekly readers in Los Angeles and New York using Americhip’s patented Video-in-Print technology. The ads will appear on a slender TFT LCD screen, all of 2.7 mm thick, with a 320x240 resolution. Video-in-print, which will be embedded into the magazine, can hold up to 40 minutes of video content. It runs on batteries that can be charged via a USB cable.

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