Ad of the Week: Jeep Recruits Viewers to Help Support the USO and Returning Troops through an Interactive Ad on Yahoo! Homepage

Ad wins the hearts and minds of viewers through a moving video narrated by Oprah and a Twitter campaign that raises donations to help returning veterans

Born in 1941, both Jeep and the USO (United Service Organizations) have built long and respected histories of supporting U.S. troops. Throughout World War 2, soldiers loved and depended on the indispensable vehicles in battle, and the USO offered programs, services and entertainment to help them when they returned from the fight.

Now Jeep and the USO have joined forces to aid today’s returning troops through a program called Operation S.A.F.E. Return (OSR). On February 4, the USO’s birthday, they ran a stirring and engaging ad on the Yahoo! homepage to build support for the program.

The ad features two strong videos—a moving tribute to the troops narrated by Oprah Winfrey that you may have seen in Jeep’s Super Bowl ad, and an overview of the many types of support for veterans provided by OSR. The ad includes a Twitter campaign that truly engages users in supporting the program. Every time a user tweets “#joinOSR,” Jeep donates $1 to the USO.

The ad launches with a brief 970x395 auto overlay that’s frequency-capped at one showing a day per user. Once the ad has withdrawn to the 300x250 spot on the right and the 970x60 banner on the top, the user can expand the latter back to its height of 395 pixels, this time with sky blue wallpaper.

Inside the overlay is the live tweet stream. Next to it is a video thumbnail that launches Jeep’s Super Bowl ad narrated by Oprah: “We wait. We Hope. We pray. Until you’re home again.” A second video thumbnail takes you to Jeep’s official OSR site.

Jeep’s custom takeover uses rich media to engage the user with an interactive, emotional and inspiring message. And it not only engages their attention, it actually engages them in the cause.

---Thomas T. Lady