P&G pulls out of Zip TV

Procter & Gamble (P&G) has pulled the plug on its membership of the interactive television advertising consortium Zip TV.

P&G has refused to renew its membership, which expires next month.

Zip TV was set up to allow members to combine their knowledge about interactive TV advertising and to cut costs associated with the medium, which has historically been dominated by BSkyB. But BSkyB has cut its charges, making it more attractive for advertisers to use its applications and platform.

P&G associate director of media Bernard Balderston says: “We have withdrawn from the Zip consortium, but we remain committed to interactive advertising and have activities planned in the coming months.”

Zip TV allows viewers who want to respond to interactive ads from consortium members to press a red button, putting them through to Zip TV’s interactive bandwidth where they can navigate the interactive application. Non-consortium members can also use Zip TV for interactive TV advertising.

Zip TV managing partner Donna Barradale says: “The consortium was always going to evolve and we have had new members joining, such as Woolworths.”

Other members include Orange, Unilever, COI Communications and Reckitt Benckiser.

Honda was the first consortium member to run a campaign through Zip last July. Its marketing director Simon Thompson says that the car manufacturer will continue to support Zip: “From our perspective it brings us fantastic consumer insight and great value.”