24 Nov 2004 | SU said...

One interesting side-effect of going this route is that, because the header image is loaded as a background image, the Best Buy logo is not clickable. There does not appear to be a link to Best Buy anywhere on the site when I run a text search, either.

24 Nov 2004 | Caleb Jaffa said...

I can't recall when they started, but I know IGN has been doing this with some of their advertising. The instance I recall best is when McDonald's launched the McGriddle. The colors became all yellow and red. I think this subtle shift is some of the best advertising. It gets you thinking about it more actively than regular ads, "Why is everything yellow, oh Best Buy is sponsoring the site." Especially since after that initial investigation it continues on a subconscious level as you continue reading the site, all without getting in the way.

25 Nov 2004 | pb said...

Also, the Best Buy logo is fixed far to the right so I didn't even see it.

25 Nov 2004 | Mike D. said...

I don't think that the color-change alone does much... in fact, I noticed that the Wired site was yellow earlier today but never even connected that it was related to Best Buy. I feel like this is probably just the starting point for a most comprehensive BestBuy campaign on the site.

If you take the yellow shell and then add some inline ads, some horizontal and vertical banners, and some other items to cue off the color scheme, then it could really come alive. If I'm Best Buy though, I'm not paying much for just a color change of the shell. It just doesn't have enough brand value on its own.

It will be interesting to see what else develops...

25 Nov 2004 | Jeff Wheeler said...

It definately is impressive, but I feel that the yellow and blue clash a lot. I want to see another sponsor's colors. Maybe they could offer a preferences page and let you choose the sponsor's theme. That way they could both get more money from sponsers by having each one get their own theme, but also let users be happier by choosing better colors for them.

By the way, why doesn't your comment-preview page have your site layout?

25 Nov 2004 | Adrian said...

I concur with Caleb. I automatically thought of IGN when I read this news item. I actually remember the McDonalds campaign Caleb speaks off, which might be a testament to how effective these campaigns can be.

Here's a screen capture of the McIGN.

Also, it caused publicity on a number of websites including a Fark Photoshop Contest and a comic strip on Penny Arcade.

26 Nov 2004 | Tyme said...

In Wired's case I did not associate Best Buy with Wired at all (just like someone else mentioned), so I do not think the color change is enough. In IGN's case it was obvious but I think it was a bit too much (they should have shown different products on one page instead of bombarding the reader with the same thing just styled slightly different). The question is if McDonald's saw an increase in sales because of it? Yes, they received publicity but the truth is just about everyone knows about McDonald's anyway so is the "extra" exposure worth it?

Now take a lesser know product and that type of exposure could be well worth the investment.

26 Nov 2004 | Jack Mottram said...

One point in favour of this kind of branding is the fact that it's relatively unobtrusive, as the change in colourscheme doesn't intrude on the content but is just jarring enough for visitors to a site to register the sponsorship (er, or not, judging by some of the above comments!)

The same goes for your RSS adverts, to some extent - because they're placed at the bottom of each entry, the reader registers their presence, but doesn't have their reading experience marred in any way.

28 Nov 2004 | Lode said...

It's not the first time Wired has done this. I recall a very creative campaign by HP, which turned the whole site into grayscale, except for a banner at the bottom that said something along the lines of "Notice how everything looks much better in color? Switch to color..", which obviously was a campaing for color printers. I think this was about 1998. I'll see if I can find a screenshot in my ever growing personal obsessive web archive.