Digital choice: Sky Sports 'Year Deal'

The page appears with a skyscraper banner showing a bird's eye view of a golf hole across the right of the page, and an overlay showing the tee on the left.

By clicking on the banner at the right moment, the golf ball flies from the tee toward the green, getting bigger as it reaches its highest point. If you have the volume turned up, you even hear ambient sounds of wind and birds twittering, which add to the effect and draw you in.

Although it's not immediately obvious what you should do as the banner loads, it is intriguing enough to entice you to play with it and is good fun, which is an element that can often be forgotten. It may frustrate a few people but, for those who get the idea, it will be remembered and - if they are anything like me - keep them engaged until they get a hole in one.

A poorly executed banner can cause more damage than good, and can really turn someone off your brand. However, when they are done well like this, they are effective. There are some annoyances, such as not being able to select text and links within the page until you have either closed the overlay or, in this case, teed off. But this creative contains all the action within the area of the banner.

Website: AKQA.

This article was first published on Marketing