Astral Media begins Sopranos campaign
By Adnews Staff
Astral Media of Toronto has begun a campaign on behalf of specialty channel The Movie Network to promote the debut of the final season of the television series "The Sopranos." The campaign, which uses the tagline "Be the first to know," includes television, radio, outdoor, print, online and text message advertising. The effort will run until mid-March, while the series will begin on March 12. "By leveraging a high-profile series like The Sopranos, we're able to reach existing and potential subscribers by playing on the fact that to truly 'be the first to know,' you need to be a subscriber of The Movie Network," said Russell Ward, director of consumer marketing at Astral Television Networks. "More importantly, the campaign allows us to drive home The Movie Network's point-of-difference position as the premier television destination for Hollywood movies, HBO and Showtime content, and first-rate Canadian programming." The television commercial depicts a family in a car outside a neighbour's house using surveillance equipment to watch The Sopranos. The 30-second version of the ad is airing on Toronto networks including CFTO, CP24 and Sun TV, as well as in some Future Shop stores and Cineplex movie theatres in the Greater Toronto Area. A 25-second version of the ad will run in some U.S. markets. Four 15-second radio spots will air on CHUM FM, Q107 and 102.1 The Edge. The billboard and outdoor mural executions are also be limited to the Greater Toronto Area. Print ads are running in Inside Entertainment and Movie Entertainment magazines, as well as in Toronto dailies and weeklies including Now, Eye, Metro and 24 Hours. The text message component takes the form of an opinion survey intended to create excitement about the series. Ads displaying questions about the upcoming season of the show have been placed on restaurant boards, digital boards, videos at Toronto Rock and Toronto Marlies games. Viewers can submit answers to these questions by text message to enter a contest for a Sony home theatre system. Questions also appear on Web banners on Toronto.com, Where.ca, Torontolife.com, TorontoPlus.ca, Cinemaclock.com, TSN.ca, Canada.com and Globeandmail.com. The campaign was produced by Taxi Advertising and Design of Toronto along with the marketing, creative services and interactive departments of The Movie Network.