Unique Media Placement

I do the Wall Street Journal crossword every weekend and was surprised this week to see the puzzle embedded in an ad.

It's an ad for Lincoln Financial Group and the headline, in a handwriting font, reads "The third letter for 77 across is a t. Your futureself." The body copy starts "When it comes to the right financial plan, who knows what you need better than yourself."

I thought this was great media placement and concept. It made me stop and read the ad, the copy paid off the puzzle tie-in nicely with the futureself reference, it had a call to action, and the company name will be right in front of me the entire time I spend on the puzzle. I'd say those were creative and media dollars well spent.