Alliance Atlantis breaks Trailer Park Boys campaign
By Adnews Staff
Specialty channel Showcase, owned by Alliance Atlantis Communications of Toronto, broke a multimedia campaign yesterday to promote the start of the fifth season of the series "Trailer Park Boys," which will begin on April 17. The initiative will include outdoor, print and broadcast advertising, plus a national publicity tour. The creative compares the popularity of the show's three lead characters to the popularity of hockey. "Trailer Park Boys is a marketer's dream," said Walter Levitt, senior vice-president of marketing and creative services at Alliance Atlantis. "The show and characters have become Canadians icons. We'd like to thank the NHL for giving us a great creative hook this year." The print ad shows the three characters, Ricky, Julian and Bubbles, wearing hockey equipment and portrayed on hockey cards. The copy reads, "Canada's Got a New Favourite Pastime." Packages of these hockey cards have been produced to use as promotional giveaways. The ad will run in newspapers nationally and in TV listings books in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Halifax. Outdoor advertising began yesterday. It includes subway platform and garbage container displays in Toronto, plus Sky Train station murals in Vancouver and bus shelter ads in Halifax. The outdoor component will also use 700 posters on the outside of convenience stores for four weeks in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto. The outdoor and print campaign was created by FCB Canada. The TV ad began airing on Showcase last month. The commercial shows a group of people in a bar cheering at a television set as if they were watching a hockey game. As the ad progresses, the viewer sees that the people are watching "Trailer Park Boys." Six alternate endings have been created for this ad, which was made by the Alliance Atlantis Creative Services staff. The publicity tour will include radio interviews by the three actors at stations in Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal and Toronto. This tour will run from April 6 to 15. The actors will throw the first pitch as the Toronto Blue Jays home opener on April 8. They will also sign autographs at an HMV store in Toronto on April 14, to coincide with the DVD release of the show's fourth season. Showcase and various local radio and print outlets in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg and Montreal will hold promotional screenings in movie theatres prior to the start of their regular television run. Showcase and Toronto radio station Q107 will conduct a "Trailer Park Boys" look-a-like contest for fans of the show during a screening in Toronto. The winner will receive a visit to the show's set.