Chevy runs digital video ads in print

Chevrolet has purchased a series of print ads to show off digital videos promoting the Colorado pickup.

The ads appear in the May issue of certain subscriber issues of Esquire and Popular Mechanics. And it allows readers to watch one of three short videos, which were created by Chevy's creative agency Commonwealth/McCann.

Some 10,000 subscribers each to Esquire and Popular Mechanics -- those considered likely Colorado buyers -- received copies with a video player embedded inside the print page.

"We had these awesome digital films that we created for the Colorado launch and we thought, why not ... put video in print," said Jill Mida, manager of Chevrolet truck advertising.

Chevy "leveraged all of Hearst's consumer data" to determine which 20,000 readers fit the profile of a Colorado buyer and should receive the ad, Mida said. 

She wouldn't disclose how much the ad cost, but did say, "the unit is obviously expensive."

General Motors reported sales of 19,126 Colorados in the U.S. during the first quarter, including 6,621 units in March. 

The video-in-print ads are one part of Chevy's marketing push around the Colorado. Print ads for the Colorado (that don't include video) are also running in Men's Health, Sports Illustrated, Backpacker, Surfer, Bike and Dirt Rider magazines. It's already run TV commercials as well as digital ads.

This isn't the first time a magazine has put video in print. In 2009, Entertainment Weekly, which is owned by Time Inc., used Americhip to put a video ad for CBS in a print issue. That ad showed off CBS's fall lineup.

Chevy is likely the first automotive advertiser to place such an ad. But in 2012, Lexus merged print and digital advertising in a slightly different way. It required placing a tablet underneath the print ad. 

Jennifer Vuong of Automotive News contributed to this report.