New ad element drives increased consumer engagement with brands, leveraging video games’ inherent interactive nature.

Massive Inc., creator of the world’s leading video game network and wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corp., today announced that it has launched interactive in-video-game ads, allowing advertisers to engage gamers in new and entertaining ways. The first advertiser to utilize the new interactive ad unit is Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., with a campaign for its new 2007 Yaris sedan in “Anarchy Online,” a top multiplayer online game published by Funcom.

The new interactive ad units can be used in a number of ways to encourage gamer interaction with the advertising and to provide a more engaging brand experience. For the Toyota Yaris campaign, gamers are encouraged to engage with the ads to unveil an image of the new Yaris. The campaign is running in multiple games on the Massive Network and utilizes Massive’s dynamic 2-D elements and full-motion video and audio ads, in addition to the new interactive units, to reach the coveted gaming audience. The new in-video game ads were developed in collaboration with Toyota’s advertising agency of record, Saatchi & Saatchi in L.A.

“Leveraging this new interactive ad element from Massive allows gamers to interact with our brand in an environment they’re passionate about,” said Kim McCullough, corporate manager of Marketing Communications at Toyota.