AOL will be launching a campaign to attract users age 18-24 to its AIM instant messaging (IM) service and has named San Francisco independent shop Attik to executed the "I AM" campaign, which relies heavily on nontraditional and interactive means of reaching the intended demographic - such as campus-wide postings in colleges and ads on websites frequented by young users, including social networking sites MySpace and Facebook, reports AdWeek. Attik is also running print ads in 43 college newspapers, but no TV ads. Spending was not disclosed.

"AIM can do more than instant messaging and that's a message we want to get out," said Amy Essene, vice-president of audience brand marketing. "I AM" creative emphasizes just-released enhancements, such as video and voice communication, as well as the AIM screen name's role in users' identities. The campaign is the first for AIM. All ads drive users to download a trial version, dubbed AIM Triton.

AIM has some 43 million users, according to AOL, but it faces competition from MSN and Yahoo. Google launched its own IM and internet voice service, Google Talk, two months ago.