Earlier in the week, I got a lot of flack on Facebook for becoming a fan of the movie Dear John. I noted that it was for a purpose: my usual Facebook advertising and brand research…. and it was. The Dear John campaign is unique because it merges several of the Facebook ad formats in a way I have not yet seen before:

Earlier in the week, I wrote that NBC ad campaign showcased the new ‘become a fan’ unit for users who RSVP’d as attending the Chuck premier. The Dear John ad behaves similarly and includes the “become a fan” and “like” functionality within the video button. Again, this is not new behavior (Chuck did it as well), but it shows significant evolution on the platform – it wasn’t long ago that video, RSVP, invitations and “become a fan” ads were all separate formats and actions.

When combined, it creates a rich, comprehensive campaign that satisfies users’ various interests or habits.

The ad unit as it appears in the right column

When you click the play button, the HD video plays and includes “like” and “become a fan” functionality”

When attending, you get the chance to invite friends and become a fan

Also interesting, the Dear John video units feature the actors (including Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried) speaking directly to viewers and encouraging them to become Facebook Fans. The video is also posted on the Dear John fan page and has its own public URL – but strangely, the video cannot be embedded (a probably next evolution of public content on Facebook).

The video of Channing Tatum had 2,250 likes and 275 comments:

Popularity: 2% [?]