Gizmodo offered up an interesting overview of a new television ad by Grasshopper phone systems where the main "icon" of the company, a grasshopper, is placed stationary in the center of the ad throughout the commercial. It is definitely an interesting way to circumvent auto skipping of commercials on DVRs.

It led me to think about the online environment and how most ads are "storyline driven", meaning the add must first get the attention of a web visitor, then tell a building story, leading up to a frame or two of pay off, usually a logo and some type of CTA (click me, call me, etc.).

The grasshopper example illustrates an underutilized opportunity for online marketers to circumvent the uninterested eye of the web visitor. Let's mix things up, show the logo at the start of the animation, use it though the sequence leading up and through the CTA. Web visitor's are not sitting around and waiting for a great story to unfold. If they are interested, they are interested now, not 30 seconds from now.