Viacom-owned MTV Networks announced today that it has partnered with candy-maker Cadbury and Dish Network to launch its first advertiser-supported interactive TV (iTV) campaign.

Interactive voting and polling will be presented by Cadbury’s Sour Patch Kids during a new reality series, which is called “Queen Bees,” that premieres this Friday and is only available to Dish Network viewers.

The campaign will give the audience the opportunity to interact directly with television content during show time . Throughout the show, viewers will be prompted with three different sets of questions and results on the bottom third of their screens: "Fill in the Blank," "Sour or Sweet" and "Star Chart Play Along."

The questions will be presented before commercial breaks, and the voting results will appear immediately following the commercial break, encouraging viewer retention throughout the pod. Sour Patch Kids' branding will be incorporated throughout the iTV application. Additionally, MTV will weave Sour Patch Kids' product attributes into one question each episode.

The cable industry is also working on engaging viewers through interactive advertising through its EBIF and tru2way initiatives. Studies have shown that when viewers are actively engaged in watching commercials, they’re less likely to tune away during the breaks.

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