Virus protection and PC management software firm McAfee.com on Monday launched an unusual
advertising effort that places branded mouse pads in 4.1 million issues of
Time Magazine.
Time Magazine and McAfee.com’s ad agency, 120 Advertising, first presented
the idea in late 1999, but the production and design of the mouse pads
presented significant technical obstacles.
Although dot-com companies, and others, have long used mouse pads as
branding vehicles, this is the first time a firm has inserted one into a
multi-million subscription consumer publication.
The designers of the mouse pads incorporated McAfee.com corporate branding,
and tried to make them visually captivating by using colorful imagery.
“With the potential to reach 4.1 million mainstream readers, and place our
message in front of them while actually using their computers,” said Katie
Wagner, account supervisor at 120 Advertising, “the mouse pads speak to our
broader target of ‘all PC users’ at a time when security is front of mind.”