Initially customers have to download a free application to their phone or PDA. This is then used to take photos of the 2D barcodes, known as EZcodes, in the WSJ ads.

Data embedded in the barcode will then automatically direct the mobile browser to the BMO Capital Markets landing page.

Rick Kuwayti, head, marketing, BMO Capital Markets, says: "This innovative technology gives advertising a much more powerful punch by putting valuable information into the hands of a growing segment of mobile users at precisely the moment they want it."

Back in 2007 Spanish banking group Banco Sabadell teamed with Telefonica to launch a marketing campaign that uses bi-dimensional code technology to deliver promotional videos on customers' mobile handsets.