UMBRA ACCESSORIZES ADS WITH PRODUCT EMAIL ADDRESSES
By Adnews Staff
Toronto-based home accessories manufacturer Umbra Ltd. has launched a new U.S. advertising campaign that features individual product email addresses. The campaign, created by Ranscombe & Co. of Toronto, is running from April to December. One-page print magazine ads are being supported by billboard advertising in New York's West Village, Tribeca and SoHo neighborhoods. The campaign also includes an accordion style pull-up insert in the April issue of Vanity Fair. Each ad promotes a single Umbra product, such as picture frames, window treatments, wastebaskets and bathroom accessories. One ad for a mandarin orange Grand Can garbage can uses the headline "swings both ways." Another ad begins "Free Your Windows" and includes a picture of bent curtain rods. Each ad also includes an email address for that particular product. Consumers who send in a message will receive additional information on the product, including where to buy it. Shelley Shepherd, spokesperson for Umbra, said that 85% of the company's business is in the U.S., so for the time being advertising will run only in that market. She said the company just started advertising within the past two years and is hoping to expand to eventually include Canada, which accounts for 12% of its business, in its campaigns.