Agency: GyroHSR

Name of campaign: “Cincinnati Bell Banner Campaign”

Launch date: April 2010

Creative credits: Executive creative director: Tom Rentschler; senior art director: Jonah Otchy; copywriter: Barrett Condy

Why we liked it: These Cincinnati Bell online banners are lively, engaging ads promoting the company’s “Peace of Mind” program and aimed at convincing small businesses they need data backup. These online ads present situations to scare small-business owners into thinking about what a disaster—or at least a huge pain in the butt—it would be to lose their financial and other data. The best of these ads, all of which use Flash animation to great and intriguing effect, show a coffee cup spilling and causing some data damage. Other banners show a cloud rolling in and lightning striking, a window breaking to represent theft and a crystal ball to introduce the unpredictability of future data needs. The ads all ask for viewers to take another step, whether it’s visiting a website, placing an order or registering for an analysis of data safety. These are good, hardworking banners that use rich media, all too often overlooked, to great effect.