The site, called Howard's Home, was created by DLKW Dialogue, the digital arm of ad agency Delaney Lund Knox Warren, which created Halifax's current TV ad drive.
It is accessible through a link on Halifax's home page (www.halifax.co.uk). Users can watch Halifax's TV ads, download a Howard screenmate or screensaver and access ringtones of tracks used in the TV ads. They can also find information on Halifax current accounts and personal loans.
"The microsite has been developed to engage users with the brand," said James Moore, internet marketing manager at Halifax. "We wanted to create an environment that would give visitors something they can use as well as product information.
Steve Griffiths, business development director at DLKW Dialogue, added: "The idea is that consumers can wander around the rooms of Howard's home to find out about different Halifax products. We will be adding more rooms in the future."
Halifax plans to collect data from users who download ringtones, enabling it to continue a dialogue in the future.
Howard is part of Halifax's 'Staff as Stars' marketing strategy, which sees the bank's employees appearing in its ads.
Howard has appeared online before, on the back of a swan in the form of a dhtml ad that flew across web sites including BTopenworld and Virgin.net in January last year.
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