US magazine Entertainment Weekly has launched the first video advert embedded into print.

US magazine Entertainment Weekly has launched the first video advert embedded into print, under the direction of the broadcaster CBS and drinks maker Pepsi.

In this week’s issue of the popular magazine, readers in Los Angeles and New York will discover characters from US television programmes speaking to them from a wafer-thin video screen built into the page.

It is in fact a marketing experiment from CBS and Pepsi and is suggestive of the fantasy newspaper “The Daily Prophet” in Harry Potter, working much like a singing greetings card, with the video starting once a reader turns the appropriate page.

President of CBS’s marketing group, George Schweitzer, said: “This is the first way we can get video samples into the hands of entertainment enthusiasts off the television screen.”

The video advert plays on a screen similar to that of mobile telephones, and is built into a cardboard insert which also features in-built speakers, so the viewer can hear the advert too.

Chip technology is used to store the video, and has been developed by Americhip, a company which specialises in multi-sensory marketing. With rechargeable batteries, the chips are technically re-usable, with each one able to hold up to 40 minutes of video.

CBS and Pepsi won’t say how much this limited commercial trial is costing, but Americhip told BBC News that a multi-thousand print run with built-in screens would cost in the region of US $20 (around £13) for each magazine.

It is not quite the first time that this sort of technology has been used in printed publications. Last year Esquire, the men’s lifestyle magazine, used e-ink technology to create a changing cover for its 75th anniversary issue.

Whether video embedded in print is just another expensive advertising gimmick or here to stay will only emerge in time. Some readers may find the automatic playing of video intrusive, yet others are likely to delight in such a seemingly advanced piece of technology. Let us know what you think.