TORONTO – Showcase has launched a second wave of its quirky, suggestive, “Thanks” image campaign to reinforce the channel as the home of premium boundary-pushing television series.
This time around, the campaign includes both consumer and trade components, along with a brand-new on line element at Showcase.ca which will allow users to download on-air promos to their iPods and share them with friends. The consumer campaign launched in mid-April, the trade campaign launches this week and the online element will be live on May 8.
The campaign is based on the premise that Showcase viewers have reaped the benefits of the network’s commitment to providing provocative programming over the years. It features fake testimonials from fictional viewers who have developed a desire to push their own personal boundaries as a result of watching Showcase (see photo below). The campaign plays on the channel’s signature irreverent sense of humour by creating a cheeky send-up of the themes that are dealt with in the provocative programming airing on the network.
“We’ve expanded the campaign creatively and geographically this year,” says Sara Moore, senior vice-president of marketing and publicity at Alliance Atlantis. “We’re hitting no less than five new markets, extending our reach to cities that haven’t seen this type of edgy outdoor advertising from Showcase before. And for the first time, Showcase is allowing viewers to download and share their favourite on-air promos – the funny and risqué content of the promos makes them ripe for online sharing.”
In addition to Toronto and Vancouver (where executions also appeared last time), ads are appearing in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hamilton and Halifax. Nine 30-second television spots and six print ads feature viewers as they thank the channel for encouraging them to push their own boundaries. Promos have been airing nationally on Showcase and other Alliance Atlantis channels, and will be streamed online via the Showcase.ca website. Interactive elements on the site also include iPod downloads and thematic backgrounds from the campaign. Promos can also be found on www.youtube.com, www.ifilm.com, www.zippyvideos.com, and www.clipshack.com.
Outdoor executions of the consumer campaign include transit shelters and wall murals, while print components will run in urban weeklies, commuter papers and magazines.
The trade component of the campaign features ads encouraging media buyers to advertise with Showcase.
