Nike testing blogs as an ad medium

Gawker Media, a small company that operates Web logs on culture and politics, like Gawker and Wonkette, has begun blogging on behalf of major advertisers.

The company's first paid blog is for Nike. Called Art of Speed, the blog will spend about a month showcasing a series of 15 short films on the theme of speed, all commissioned by Nike. Gawker Media Contract Productions, a new division of Gawker Media, will supply layout, commentary, links and other features. Terms were not disclosed.

"A lot of marketers are interested in Web logs as a medium," said Nick Denton, publisher at Gawker Media in New York. "One thing to do is to run advertising campaigns on the sites. Some marketers are moving one step beyond that and looking at other ways they can engage this new form of independent media."

The approach, Denton said, is borrowed from the print tradition of so-called advertorials and special advertising sections.

"It's the right community," said Nate Tobecksen, a communications manager at Nike, who called the Gawker crowd creative and connected. "It may be small, but it's an important and influential group."

Read the article: www.iht.com