Bradley and Montgomery Named OMMA Award Finalist for First-of-Its-Kind Interactive Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 Launch Video

INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Independent advertising agency Bradley and Montgomery (BaM) has been named a finalist in the 2011 OMMA Awards in the Best Video: Brand Integration/Product Placement category for its interactive video experience catapulting the launch of client Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 9 (IE9). Forgoing the conventional route of putting the product in the hands of a YouTube celebrity, BaM’s video caught the attention of consumers by putting the YouTube celebrity in the product.

“It was great being able to partner with Microsoft to create an interactive experience for my fans”

To encourage people to download IE9, BaM concepted an immersive and interactive video remix experience designed to highlight features of the browser when the video is viewed using IE9. BaM licensed Katy Perry’s hit single “Firework,” and hired Mike Tompkins, an Internet sensation who creates a cappella remixes of popular songs, to perform it. BaM enlisted Archetype to program the concept to deliver one of the most multi-faceted HTML5 audio and video experiences ever created.

BaM broke Tompkins’ “Firework” recording into 16 different views and let users remix their own versions by turning tracks up and down, while zooming in and out on particular video windows— features that work only when using IE9. Users were then encouraged to share their Tompkins-inspired remixes on Facebook and Twitter. The video was also posted on Tompkins’ YouTube channel, where he encouraged his listeners to visit http://www.beautyoftheweb.com/firework/ to remix the video.

“Placing a product into entertainment is generally easy,” said Ben Carlson, chief strategy officer for BaM. “But interlacing the marketing and entertainment so that one can’t exist without the other is a higher bar to hurdle. I'm proud to see the strategy benefit Microsoft’s Windows Internet Explorer as well as Mike Tompkins' fans in a meaningful way.”

Since its debut, Tompkins’ video has steadily climbed to more than 3 million views, 43,000 Facebook “Likes” and has generated nearly 10,000 comments, all while proving to be an effective tool that links interactive experience with the performance of IE9.

“We are thrilled with the response,” said Ryan Gavin, senior director, Microsoft’s Windows Internet Explorer. “Internet Explorer 9 is all about making the sites and experiences that people love shine. With the added interactivity enabled by IE9, the Mike Tompkins video was able to transform into an entirely new interactive experience for his fans, bringing to life his work in a way that really makes you forget you’re on a website.”

The video was launched at Microsoft’s IE9 keynote presentation at the 2011 South by Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas. To produce the video, BaM worked with Archetype, a leading interactive design and engineering firm, to develop the HTML5 application.

“It was great being able to partner with Microsoft to create an interactive experience for my fans," said Mike Tompkins.

To vote for the IE9 video, please visit the OMMA Awards’ page for Online Advertising Creativity Finalists. Winners will be announced on September 26, 2011 during the OMMA Awards Cocktail Reception and Dinner at the OMMA Global New York Conference and Expo.

About Bradley and Montgomery

Advertising agencies are built to meet expectations, creating commercials that fit inside of predetermined media holes. Bradley and Montgomery (BaM) is a full-service agency dedicated to creating unexpectations for its clients and audiences: magnetic destinations, events, and sharable artifacts that attract people to them-under their terms and circumstances. A project agency that can work alongside a traditional agency of record, BaM works with some of the world's biggest brands, including Microsoft, VH1, MTV and JP Morgan Chase. BaM has been recognized at The Webby Awards, The One Show, and won Best in Show at the 2006 Creative Media Awards. Its campaigns have been profiled in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and Fast Company. For more information, or to find out what's new, visit BaM online at www.bamideas.com.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.