ATLANTA, June 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- AutoTrader.com, the ultimate automotive marketplace, was awarded a total of three gold awards for excellence in online advertising for the Chevrolet Sonic Overdrive campaign, which ran at the end of 2011. The campaign received two Communicator Awards in the online advertising and marketing categories and a gold award in the online ads-advertising category of the Horizon Interactive Awards.

"Overdrive has proven to be an exciting and innovative solution that brings exceptional exposure and drives additional shopper interest in new vehicles," said Matt McKenna, senior vice president of national accounts at AutoTrader.com. "We are exceedingly pleased at the success and recognition of the Sonic campaign and accept these awards on behalf of the entire team across AutoTrader.com; Chevrolet; Goodby, Silverstein & Partners; and PointRoll, who worked together to produce the campaign." 

Overdrive is an ultra-premium, custom advertising experience launched from the AutoTrader.com homepage that integrates rich media with unique features not available in any of the other advertising solutions on the site. The Chevrolet Sonic Overdrive experience was built around a large creative canvas with multiple ad components and page elements, including a marquee banner with out-of-banner animation, branded wallpaper and a user-initiated "Sidekick," which expanded into a fully interactive experience for auto shoppers.

The Communicator Awards is the leading international awards program honoring creative excellence for communication professionals. Its annual competition honors the best in advertising, corporate communications, public relations and identity work for print, video interactive and audio. The winners were selected by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals of acclaimed media, advertising, and marketing firms. 

In addition to the Communicator Awards, the AutoTrader.com Chevrolet Sonic Overdrive campaign also received a 2011 Gold Winner award in the Online Ads-Advertising category in the 10th annual Horizon Interactive Awards. The Horizon Interactive Awards was created to recognize excellence in interactive media production worldwide. The judging process involves a Horizon Interactive Awards advisory panel, end user panel and a worldwide panel of judges consisting of industry professionals.

To see a video of the campaign in action, click here.

About AutoTrader.com
Atlanta-based AutoTrader.com, created in 1997, is the Internet's ultimate automotive marketplace and consumer information website. AutoTrader.com aggregates in a single location millions of new cars, used cars and certified pre-owned cars from thousands of auto dealers and private sellers and is a leading online resource for auto dealers, individuals and manufacturers to advertise and market their vehicles to in-market shoppers. The company also provides a robust suite of software tools for dealers and manufacturers to help them manage and market their vehicle inventory and display advertising on the Internet. AutoTrader.com continues to grow key business metrics, including revenue, profitability and site traffic. Today, AutoTrader.com attracts millions of unique monthly visitors who utilize the site to review descriptions, photos and videos of vehicles for sale; research and compare vehicles; review pricing and specials; and read auto-related content like buying and selling tips and editorial coverage of major auto shows and automotive trends. AutoTrader.com operates one other auto marketing brand, AutoTraderClassics.com. AutoTrader.com also owns used vehicle management software company vAuto, Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com), HomeNet Automotive, a leading provider of online inventory management and merchandising solutions for the automotive retail industry and VinSolutions, a leading provider of end-to-end solution platforms for dealers.  AutoTrader.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. Providence Equity Partners is a 25 percent owner of the company and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is also an investor. For more information, please visit www.autotrader.com.

SOURCE AutoTrader.com