Lizards, leprechauns and bears, oh my. The Dr Pepper Snapple Group is using animated characters in mobile ads to increase engagement as part of the company?s multichannel ?Hunt for the Unbelievable? campaign.

The mobile component of the campaign consists of banner ads created with HTML 5 technology. The experience is designed by Crisp Media Inc., and the ads were created to boost user engagement rather than click-through rates.

?The idea was to try to extend what?s possible using animations and overlays,? said Tom Limongello, vice president of marketing at Crisp Media, New York.

?It was to try to do something above and beyond to make sure there is increased engagement, and longer engagement than when it?s just a regular expandable,? he said.

Crisp Media is a rich-media mobile platform for companies such as Estee Lauder, HBO, Hearst Magazines and Paramount Pictures.

The unbelievable experience
Some familiar faces?like Sasquatch and Santa Claus?are bound to pop up during a venture through one of the mobile ads, which are all centered around the theme of what is unbelievable.

?The Mobile Hunt for the Unbelievable? begins by prompting users to click on the banner?s pop-ups, which feature a cartoon boy asking for help finding his other animated friends.

The imaginary characters bounce around on the phone?s screen, and introduce various calls to action when users touch them, such as a sweepstakes entry form. Users who provide their name and email address register for a chance to win a vacation worth $10,000.

The characters are used to keep users on the page, and to keep them there for a longer amount of time than is usually spent within mobile ads.

Animated characters walk users through the "Hunt
for the Unbelievable" mobile ads from Dr Pepper.

The animation advantage
The campaign is based on Diet Dr Pepper's animated television commercials, which feature a character known as the Diet Dr Pepper Guy trying to convince members of a support group that there is such thing as a satisfying diet drink.

The sweepstakes and rich media ads through Yahoo are also part of "The Hunt for the Unbelievable."

At the campaign's Yahoo Web site, users can play a game to find missing characters, which can be shared on Twitter and Facebook.

Because the campaign is completely digital, the addition of mobile ads was an appropriate next step.

Employing animation works better for some companies than others, especially when the purpose is to keep the user within the ad, rather than encourage click-throughs. It creates an exciting way to utilize rich media and to engage someone within the content experience, per Crisp.

?If it?s a fun brand, like soda or candy, you want to potentially entice them to interact, but not to leave,? Mr. Limongello said. ?Because there?s no payment for leaving, unless they?re going to buy a Dr Pepper.?

Final take
Here is a closer look at the mobile ads within the "Hunt for the Unbelievable" campaign from Dr Pepper