Swimsuits drive traffic

Sports Illustrated's website is receiving record traffic, thanks to content from its annual swimsuit issue segment, which hit the site on February 12.

SI.com's internal stats say the section generated 5.4 million unique users, a 41 percent increase from last year. In the last ten days, users averaged 31 page views per person, up 35 percent from 2007.

The web component of SI's swimsuit issue has become an event in itself. According to AdWeek, the swimsuit channel features over 1,500 photos and over 100 minutes of video.

This year, the site added a mash-up feature that allows users to create custom videos with music and clips from shoots.

Advertisers include the Honda Civic, Dodge, Circuit City, Dasani, and Budweiser.

In tangent with Sports Illustrated, Taco Bell recently kicked off a campaign where would-be photographers direct the actions of model Daniella Sarahyba.