Nike starting next month will "begin placing ads in the Weather Channel mobile app, offering suggestions for cold-weather apparel based on local weather conditions," according to Sydney Ember of the N.Y. TIMES. If it is cool and dark, for instance, "an ad might appear for a reflective running vest and a base layer from its Pro Hyperwarm line." The in-app ad would then "send consumers to Nike’s website, where they could buy the suggested items." Nike's in-app ads are "part of a broader campaign it will introduce with a commercial during 'Thursday Night Football.'" The spot, "called 'Snow Day,' features 21 top athletes" -- including Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski, Pacers F Paul George and U.S. women's national soccer team F Sydney Leroux and MF Carli Lloyd -- who "wake up to find their neighborhood blanketed in snow." Nike’s campaign is "geared toward capturing more online shoppers." But its in-app campaign strategy also "responds to a growing threat confronting digital advertisers: ad blocking." With in-app campaigns, advertisers can "sidestep ad blockers, most of which eliminate ads from mobile browsers but not apps" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/29).
