According to the release, the main draw of the ad units are a series of short, original videos captured during a green screen shoot with Owen Wilson in character as Randolph Dupree. By mousing over to expand the banner ad to full dimension, users can watch video and listen to Dupree’s own wisdom on living and loving, as well as gain access to features such as wallpapers, AIM buddy icons, videos and more.

“The goal of the creative for You, Me and Dupree was to provide an online-specific way to engage users and communicate the spirit of the movie,” says Mark Wilson, Klipmart’s VP of Sales for the Southeast, in a statement. “Our research shows that users prefer interactive elements in online ads, and the original content of these videos offers the added bonus of presenting footage they haven’t seen anywhere else.”

The video ads are an extension of a larger viral component developed by 65media called “Wisdom of Dupree.” This viral feature gives fans the chance to interact with Dupree himself, by asking him various questions and getting his video responses. Visitors to http://www.youmeanddupree.com are also able to partake in the “Tour Dupree” bike racing game, which contains a special cameo appearance by Lance Armstrong.

The interactive video ad units will run through mid-July on AOL, Yahoo, MTV.com, and TheOnion.com among other sites.

With the acquisition, DoubleClick hopes to better appease both creative agencies and media planners/buyers with the new technology infrastructure. Meanwhile, Klipmart has the ability to now leverage DoubleClick’s global technological resources and R&D investments.

Accordingly, Klipmart CEO Chris Young becomes Executive Vice President of Rich Media for DoubleClick and will report to DoubleClick CEO, David Rosenblatt. Young’s co-founders at Klipmart, Tristan Amzallag and Maria Klink, will also join DoubleClick’s product management and service teams.

In addition, DoubleClick will launch an Innovation Lab for the purpose of developing new creative video concepts to multiple digital platforms.

“Klipmart has a superb reputation of creative video innovation and service,” said David Rosenblatt, CEO of DoubleClick, in a statement. “Combining these strengths with DoubleClick’s industry leadership, insight and global ad management platform will truly accelerate industry innovation in digital video and emerging advertising formats.”

Chris Young adds, “Its global market place presence, technological resources and R&D investments, make DoubleClick the industry standard in digital marketing. The DoubleClick team demonstrated a remarkable commitment to accelerate industry innovation and to create a combined platform to deliver video advertising across all electronic consumer platforms. He continues, “Joining forces with DoubleClick gives us the opportunity to integrate the management and measurement of all rich media, display and search channels, providing customers with a combined source of digital marketing technology, service and reporting.”

Klipmart was represented by The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc. in the transaction, though financial terms weren’t disclosed at press time.

Becca Ratcliffe, who worked at Klipmart’s New York hub several years ago and just left Grey London where she was Account Manager will head the UK office and oversee Klipmart’s overseas expansion.

“Klipmart will extend our US top end relationships with agencies, advertisers, and publishers first here in the UK, then to other European nations in the near future,” says Ratcliffe in a statement.

Online video is exploding in the US for both content and advertising as users are rapidly embracing broadband connectivity. According to Jupiter Research, 68% of US homes online access the Internet through a broadband connection, translating into roughly about 40% of the total US online audience. In the UK, for example, the 18-24 audience is also spending more time with the computer than with television.

“We have seen an extraordinary jump in our business with near every industry category deploying online video advertising,” adds Rick Kleczkowski, Senior Vice President of Business Development for Klipmart. “Early adapters such as movies, music and gaming have upped their spending and we are seeing increased use of online video from consumer products, auto, travel, publishing, financial service, technology, etc. as advertisers realize that online is squeezing out the use of other, traditional media. This trend is occurring in The UK & Europe as well.”

“Video delivers greater brand impact and commands higher prices. This will translate into greater value for our publishers,” said TACODA’s SVP of marketing Larry Allen in a statement, “With Klipmart as our partner we now offer the very finest in-page video solutions in the industry.” The two companies believe that rich media video combined with behavioral targeting will result in higher response rates from viewers.

Klipmart estimates thatits pre-roll streaming video ads reach more than 98% of internet users, and has managed more than 2000 video campaigns for companies like GM, Warner Bros., IBM, and HBO. Klipmart’s CEO Chris Young seesits TACODA partnership as a way to increasethe company’sreach, and better monetize the video ads onits network.

TACODA’s Audience Networks track anonymous user behavior like navigation paths, allowing TACODA to group users into behavioral categories. Advertisers using TACODA’s Audience Management Services can then target specific behavioral segments, resulting in higher ROI. The company’sdeal with Klipmart is TACODA’s first foray into video advertising.

Klipmart’s Universal In-stream Solution provides agencies and clients with the first and only comprehensive report for in-stream video campaigns running across multiple publishers. The In-Stream Solution helps agencies streamline processes and create greater efficiencies in managing end-to-end, in-stream campaigns across a fragmented market. Additionally, it aims to eliminate time-consuming inefficiencies of managing and comparing campaign reports with extensive, uncorrelated metrics from numerous publishers.

“Understanding the need for a harmonized reporting platform, Klipmart was instantly receptive when we approached them with the idea for a comprehensive in-stream solution,” says Julian Zilberbrand, Associate Director of Digital Operations at MediaVest. “The result is a Universal In-Stream Solution that offers a tangible advancement that we could implement today.”

Klipmart’s Senior VP of Business Development Rick Kleczkowski adds, “I’m delighted to announce that over 40 major publishers including Yahoo!, MSN and AOL have certified Klipmart’s Universal In-Stream Solution with more coming aboard everyday. He adds, “Klipmart is the only online video provider to be certified by all of the major players, thanks to Carat Fusion and MediaVest’s close involvement coupled with Klipmart’s unmatched video expertise.”

Mr. Treffiletti has been involved in the Internet advertising industry since 1995 and has helped develop and grow companies as an executive of i-Traffic, eMusic, Freestyle Interactive and Carat Fusion. He most recently held the position of SVP focused on emerging media as part of Carat Fusion, which he left earlier this month to pursue a number of opportunities involving emerging media and the convergence of television.

Klipmart CEO Chris Young, said in a press statement, “As audiences spend a greater and greater part of their media consumption on the Internet, online video can be a must-have companion to TV advertising. Online video can also deliver user metrics to help give advertisers a better sense of who is seeing their ads and how audiences are reacting to them. We think that broadband video advertising should be planned in the same method and consideration as the traditional TV and cable upfront.”

According to Jupiter Research, 68% of US homes online access the Internet through a broadband connection, which translates to about 40% of the total US. These numbers explain why Klipmart intends to stay on top of online video advertising as the advertising market continues to move online.

The premier ad features a 3D tour of different Amp’d mobile phone models. When users click on “Amp’d Live,” they’re presented with the six-panel video ad that highlights some of the mobile videos found on the Amp’d network. “Nearly all content and functionality of the Amp’d website was pulled into the ad unit to create a completely interactive user experience showcasing the Amp’d product line and full roster of proprietary features,” said Klipmart Client Relationship Manager Todd Barrish in a statement. “The challenge was to pull all of this information from the original Amp’d site into such a small space while keeping it engaging and user-friendly.”

Media buying and planning for the Klipmart Amp’d Mobile campaign is being handled by Carat Fusion, with creative direction from brand identity company Taxi. The Amp’d ads will run for a period of one month on web sites like Yahoo, Maxim, and CNET.

It’s hard to dispute that the majority of online movie ads, save for the nifty rollovers and the occasional Flash trimmings, are anything but direct replicas of the film’s theatrical/TV trailers. While this type of promo indeed serves its purpose, Disney decided to do web audiences one better with a few of its most recent film campaigns.

Just like the company did with The Pacifier and its star Vin Diesel last year, Disney is adopting a truly interactive strategy to promote its latest offering, the remake of The Shaggy Dog starring Tim “The Toolman” Allen. Disney once again teamed up with online video ad mainstays Klipmart to produce creative that feature video shot only for the Internet combined with outtakes from the film, none of which were seen in any other promotion including trailers.

“There’s a much higher interaction rate [with these types of ads],” Klipmart’s Director of Marketing Chris Wilson tells ADOTAS. “If someone sees the same spot they see on TV, they’re not going to get interactive with it. Everything spikes dramatically with original content.”

The primary unit for the campaign (above), which “helped draw significant audiences” by launching just prior to the film’s March 10 release, is a 728 x 300 banner which is transformed as the silhouette of Tim Allen moves across the banner changing from a man to a dog. When rolled over by users, the banner expands to 1/3 of the screen and launches video of Tim Allen shot exclusively for the ad. He introduces the film and invites user to clip on paw prints, each of which launches a preview segment from the film, again, selected and edited just for online play. By clicking through, viewers are transported to an official Disney site for the film.

“Just like DVDs with extra features, you’re seeing exclusives,” says Wilson. “You’re interacting with green-screened characters and talking to them. [They're] introducing them to what’s going on in this unit, it’s something a bit more personalized. It’s more laid-back. Tim Allen [for example] says ‘hey, shouldn’t you be working now?’ It’s a little more playful.” Along with Tim Allen’s witticisms, the ad unit also includes a feature called “Shaggify Yourself”, which allows users to upload and insert their own photo and see what they look like transformed into a dog.

Metrics haven’t been calculated at this point, but Wilson expects the ad — currently found on Yahoo, Real, Nick, MSN, AOL, and Cartoon Network among others — to be live for a few more weeks. If anything, its concept lies in something fundamentally missing in online movie promos. “This is about building relationships with your viewers,” Wilson explains. “They can relate to the movie a little bit more, and have a little bit more fun. It’s not just Disney, but it is an emerging trend. Original content is much more impacting.”

The new Klipmart ads are currently running on AOL, Yahoo, CBS Sportsline, Gamespot, MP3.com, TV.com, Defamer, Gawker, Salon, Sports Illustrated, WWE, and Playboy.com. Klipmart created a special banner ad for Playboy they’re calling the “Bada Bing” unit that features video and expands as you roll over it. Klipmart also said the unit contains a button that lets users launch a full screen version.

Klipmart has also worked with companies like GM, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, and IBM. The Sopranos campaign will run alongside the interactive Sopranos Google map created by entertainment marketing company Deep Focus.

Of the banner’s many features, the one with the most innovation and viral potency is the schedule viewer. Here, users can enter their e-mail address and use a checkbox form to select their favorite movies in order to receive a reminder on the day they air. The form also provides the option of sending movie schedules to a friend.

Films as various as Dr. Strangelove, Rocky, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Sunset Blvd, and The Graduate will air on TCM commercial-free between now and March 3, two nights before ABC airs the 78th Annual Academy Award Show.