MUMBAI: In a new move to make TV commercials more interesting, two big advertisers, Subway Restaurants and Yahoo, are introducing ads in the US in which stories will be told by splitting the television screen in half vertically.

Planned by Fallon Worldwide agency in Minneapolis, split-screen spots for Subway have already started appearing on television screens since 3 April. For Yahoo, the campaign, handled by Soho Square New York, a part of the WPP Group, starts from today, according to a New York Times report.

The Subway ad, which replaces an earlier campaign celebrating offbeat consumer behaviour, shows the left side of the screen filled with Subway salads, wraps and sandwiches while the right side has customers describing their favourite Subway meals.

The Yahoo commercial, which promotes the product as a life engine rather than a search engine, both sides of the screen show different types of computer users explaining how they use Yahoo for shopping, sending e-mails and job search.

According to Fallon Chief Operating Officer Mark Goldstein, "Split-screen as a device isn't groundbreaking" He adds, "But we haven't seen it in the fast-food business, and it was a good way for us to introduce these new items from Subway and make sure the food got its due."

Yahoo chief marketing officer Cammie Dunaway says the technique was "a way to highlight our multiple dimensions." The commercial no longer uses the theme "Do you Yahoo?" but keeps the familiar model.