HARRY POTTER CAMPAIGN BEGINS
By Adnews Staff
Vancouver-based Raincoast Books has begun a radio and promotional campaign in support of the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Raincoast is the Canadian publisher and distributor of the Harry Potter books. Order of the Phoenix is the fifth book in the series by J.K. Rowling. Promotional efforts, executed by TrojanOne, began in Toronto and Vancouver on Friday. Train conductors dressed in Harry Potter costumes held signs that read, "Platform 9 3/4 Hogwarts Express." Students, also in costume, handed out bookmarks in the form of Hogwarts Express tickets. In Vancouver actors promoted the book along major downtown Skytrain routes. In Toronto actors were placed in high-traffic areas including Union Station, Dundas Square and Nathan Phillips Square. Three radio commercials, created by Palmer Jarvis DDB, went into rotation in both cities today. The ads portray out-of-work magical creatures. In one ad a Leprechaun interviews for a data entry job. In another a witch applies for a job in a coffee shop. In the third ad a wizard auditions for a role on a reality show. All three ads end with the voiceover, "It's a pity all of us can't be as magical as Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Now available in adult and regular cover versions everywhere."