When FB took to print to promote Thumbstoppers...

Even digital products see merit in press ads. A quick look at the creative.

Digital first brands advertise on digital. That's logical. But when digital led brands take to print to speak to people, it's interesting.

A recent ad about a fresh advertising format on a social media platform in a print business daily, a traditional media platform, got us thinking. The print ad we're referring to is for Facebook's 'Thumbstoppers' - a 10-second video ad format on the social platform - that was published in HT Mint earlier this week (May 28).

The name 'Thumbstoppers' is rooted in the universe of smartphones and online platforms like Facebook, where consumers waste... oops, we mean spend... time taking many an unending 'scroll trip'. In such a scenario, advertisers and content creators are tasked with creating ads that make us pause and take note.

The fact that Facebook, a digital medium that gobbles up a huge chunk of advertisers' online media spend, sees merit in taking to print to talk about an inherently mobile-led initiative is interesting on many levels. Our favourite one? - That print as a medium is relevant to one and all.

By the way, the ad in question is essentially a call for participation from folks from the ad-marketing industry - avid readers of Mint? - who have ideas for 10-seconders. They stand to win a trip to Cannes.

ALSO READ: POV: Do Creative Agencies Neglect Print Ads?

Facebook has partnered with leading ad agencies like Ogilvy, Wunderman Thompson, Leo Burnett, McCann India, Mullen Lintas and marketing companies including Nestle India and Unilever for the program. We wrote about it recently.