When I landed on the ESPN homepage the other day, I could not help but be wowed (if not slightly annoyed) by what happened next. Below is a screenshot:

What you don’t get from a screenshot is the music that was playing from the ad, and how much the on-screen images were moving. If the primary goal of a display ad is to get the consumer’s attention, this is the best ad I’ve ever seen (I can only imagine what it costs).

Outside of how well it commands attention, I am left with a lot of questions of about this ad. First, are ESPN.com readers the best audience for an iPod ad? Maybe, for a product like the iPod the audience is so widespread that it could make sense. Second, is an ad that is this disruptive a risky move for Apple, who normally do a great job of NOT pissing people off? I don’t know.

In my opinion, there is a fine line between commanding attention and deserving attention. If you deserve attention you’ll get it, and you won’t have to disrupt me to do it.

Final Grade = C