The solution: immersing the consumer in an action-packed chase – The Chase – across PC programmes. A heroine outwitting two thugs trailing her through YouTube, Facebook, and Microsoft Office, all the while demonstrating the amazing things Intel’s processor lets us do on our computers. The two-minute video was a big hit and was named an ‘Ad Worth Spreading’ by TED that you can watch here.

Following on the success of the video, Intel partnered with Microsoft Advertising to take elements of its creative and continue The Chase on a global scale across Microsoft platforms, spanning mobile, web and Xbox Live, and covering the UK, Germany, France, Russia, Poland and Turkey. To make this phase of the campaign a truly engaging experience, we kicked off with a 24-hour bespoke homepage takeover across MSN sites, created one-on-one games on Windows Live Messenger, and offered Intel theme packs for Xbox Live Spotlight users. And importantly, we extended The Chase experience to handheld devices with the use of expandable rich media.

The campaign was a great success for Intel. Research conducted by Dynamic Logic across the UK, Germany and Russia showed uplifts in the campaign association for the brand across all markets, with the highest spike seen in Russia. The campaign also boosted Intel Core i5 processor awareness, particularly amongst the Windows Live Messenger audience, which saw a 21% increase. We were able to help Intel, a giant company that makes products people don’t necessarily touch or see, bring its brand story to life.

By creating a branded experience with rich, interactive content across multiple markets and screens, we really demonstrated what Microsoft Advertising’s unique offering is all about. In a way, today’s consumer is like our heroine jumping effortlessly from screen to screen – our task as digital advertisers is to engage them holistically and tell a good story in the process.

*David Pugh-Jones is brand strategist at Microsoft Advertising

“The X Games has always been more than a sporting event – it’s a lifestyle event, too,” says Carol Kruse, ESPN’s svp of marketing. “Shazam for TV will help us create a more connected experience for fans by bringing the great music and culture of the event, as well as photo galleries and highlights.”

“With our hotspot ad format we can make distinct products part of publishers’ videos and engage viewers with hovers and clicks,” says Ryan Welmans, commercial director at the UK-based company.

“Through our partnership there’s immediate ROI through advertising revenue share,” says Marina Sirotkin, UK country manager for ipercast. “The platform is also combined with social media, so we can help increase traffic, and we can up time spent by adding interactivity to a customer website, which can further boosts returns.

A Red Carpet event online video might, say, feature celebrities wearing a range of clothes and accessories. The digital audience can roll over to initiate an ad unit for a suit or a handbag and the system will lead purchasers through to buying a product from one of its online retail clients.

“We have a number of ad partners with big feeds, such as Marks & Spencer and Tesco, and we match keywords with their products to make it work,” says Welmans.

On the publishing side Invideous works with the likes of Express Group, Future Publishing’s bike magazines and Ireland-based video website Muzu.

“We’ve sold out on the ads side though the publishing side is harder to fulfil,” Welmans says. “We really want to push into hotspot-enabled preroll ads, because from a publishers’ perspective, it should mean higher revenues when we are dealing with millions of views.”

The launch edition will include a guided tour of the publication together with – who else? – Richard Branson, as well as games, trailers and exclusive content related to TV shows and films.

Multitasking and spending many hours watching videos and using online communication is linked to certain negative experiences, such as feeling less socially success, having more friends whom parents perceive as bad influences and sleeping less, the research finds.

Clifford Nass, the Stanford professor of communication leading the study, says he was looking into how social media might create impediments to face-to-face interaction, which teaches kids how to read body language and facial clues.

“Humans are built to notice these cues – the quavering in your voice, perspiration, body posture, raise of an eyebrow, a faint smile or frown,” he explains. “Social media leaves the conversation two-dimensional. If I’m not with you face to face, I don’t get these things. Or, if I’m face to face with you and I’m also texting, I’m not going to notice them.”

The video-sharing website has lots more time-bending stats it wants to communicate. Which is why the Google Data Arts team has joined forces with digital production outfit Punk & Butler to develop a new website, onehourpersecond.com, with illustrations by Alex Eben Meyer.

By the way, did you know that in 48 seconds of uploads to YouTube, a bamboo plans grows six feet (two days of video)? Or that in one minute 13 seconds of uploads, one million babies are born (two days and 15 hours of video)?

When audiences use Shazam while watching Being Human, they’ll be able to see exclusive scenes from next week’s episode, a track list of the songs featured in that night’s episode and wallpaper for their mobile device.

Viewers of Shazam-enabled Psych will get to watch show bloopers, browse a photo gallery of stars James Roday and Dulé Hill, and download wallpaper.

The Soup watchers will get links to exclusive clips from the programme.

Lexus is sponsoring these ‘second-screen interactive experiences’ and is offering a chance to win trips for two to each of the three shows’ locations.

First up is Chicago-based Yawn, with the cameras in tow as they prepare to journey from the Midwest to the East Coast.