Current TV said that Samsung Electronics Co. has renewed its
viewer-created advertising program on the network.
Current used to emphasize short-for viewer created content
to reach a young video-savvy audience, but has been increasingly turning to
professionally produced programs in order to attract ratings. It also offered
marketers the chance to have viewers create ads for their products.
Other advertisers that have used the program include Lexus,
Hewlett-Packard and SunChips.
This will be their third time Samsung has used
Current's viewer created advertising message (VCAM) program. The best
VCAM for Samsung's new tablet media device, the Galaxy Tab, will air on Current
TV and also appear on current.com.
Viewers are invited to submit their commercials Monday. The
deadline for submissions is Dec. 13. All of the submissions will posted on
current.com. Six of the submissions selected by Samsung will be put in
Samsung's Facebook page, where fans will help select the winner, which
will earn $10,000.
"We first launched the VCAM program five years ago, and have
successfully implemented this for over 25 advertisers. The program with
Samsung has been particularly exciting and robust due to the high level of
engagement and creativity it has attracted from our viewers," said Ken
Ripley, executive VP of ad sales for Current TV.
"Current TV has been an ideal partner since we first
launched our VCAM program over a year ago," said YH Lee, senior VP of
Samsung Mobile Marketing Group. "This viewer created
advertising message program has grown and evolved exponentially, and it's
been fun to watch the creative viewing community embrace our products with such
profound creative originality as they incorporate our latest technological innovations
into their commercials.
