Last week, Nokia Canada introduced its latest mobile device by launching a streaming video campaign on Yahoo.ca. The online campaign for the Nokia 6133 – a multifaceted phone so easy to use that only one hand is needed – is supported by teaser spots on MTV and MuchMusic.

All messages drive consumers to pushtostart.ca for a 2001: A Space Odyssey-style video about the left and right hands battling it out to see who gets to operate the phone. The two hands can then compete at three games: hand tennis, hand racing and hand blast. Visitors can also view a product demo, access product information and enter a contest – with a Nokia 6133, a black Vespa LX, and Adidas gear as prizes.

Mila Mironova, marketing manager for Nokia Canada, says this is the first video ad campaign for Nokia and that it was prompted by strong indications in the marketplace in the last six to eight months that video advertising is the next big thing. Of course, that corporate gut feeling was supported by hard data and research provided by Nokia’s media agency, The Media Company in Toronto, showing that online video was a natural choice for reaching the brand’s 25-year-old bulls-eye target group and for driving them to the website.

‘They’re hardly in front of the television,’ says Mironova. ‘They’re multi-taskers – on their laptops, on the phone, instant messaging, and it’s easier for us to catch them while they’re on their computers, especially on a site like Yahoo.’

The Nokia 6133 is a phone, a camera, video recorder and player, MP3 player, FM radio, and game player. Other bells and whistles include an innovative press-to-open button, voice dialing and commands, integrated hands-free speaker, organizational tools, multimedia messaging services, and Bluetooth wireless technology.