AOL’s new interactive display ad format, Project Devil, have scooped up Marks & Spencer and Blackberry as UK launch partners, reports marketing news sources.

The new formats, which appear to have been developed as a result of AOL’s acquisition of video ad network Goviral, are interactive and let advertisers include “multimedia functionality such as video streaming and 3D images in their creative.”

According to marketingweek.co.uk, M&S is set to use the format to promote its summer fashion range which features experienced models Twiggy and Dannii Minogue. Blackberry manufacturer RIM will be highlighting its new Blackberry Torch phone with the new ad format.

Rob Blake, AOL’s VP of advertising in Europe, told nma.co.uk the format lets advertisers run high-impact campaigns because it serves users with only one ad per page.

“Project Devil treats advertising as content, giving brands the chance to build creative that complements the editorial on the page, instead of competing with it, something which is central to AOL’s strategy,” he said.

Starcom Mediavest’s John Baylon, who is working with Blackberry and the Torch campaign, said: “The display landscape hasn’t changed much in the past ten years and we believe that Project Devil is the beginning of an exciting new era for the online advertising industry.”

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