New ways of branding

Now this is pretty wild and really cool. Progressive Direct and Universal Studios Home Entertainment have tied up to create a calculator called Progressive Direct: Insurance Damage Estimates, a software that estimates damages to cars in the HD DVD release of "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift". As cars pile up and smash into each other, a running total of the damage keeps adding up in a small window. This is the first of a stream of branded interactive features on new DVDs that Universal Studios is planning.

Due to the extra space on HD discs, Universal is able to add an array of extra features, such as games, picture-in-picture commentaries and web links to movie DVDs. According to Crain Kornblau, President of Universal Studios Home Entertainment, "Product placement is hard because it doesn't all fit, but this gives us new opportunities," Progressive Direct has set up a website, www.progressivefastandfurous.com and set up contests to promote the movie and disc release. This is a new venture for a car insurance company like Progressive Direct which usually specializes in auto insurance quote information on each state and even offering online car insurance.