I love the HBO Series, Big Love which has a third season premiere at 9 PM on Sunday January 18th. Like Rome and House of Sadaam (two of many), Big Love is one of the dark horses in the HBO stable that I wish more people would watch. Don't be put off by a show about polygamy...it's a captivating account of the clash between the modern and the fundamentalist traditions of the Mormon church. But we're not here to do plot summaries, but marketing and advertising. To see plot summaries, characters and a terrific family tree, take a look at this Wikipedia entry on Big Love.
From a marketing and advertising perspective, first up is this rock-and-roll 4:30 minute whirlwind summary of the first two seasons produced by HBO. Please do not skip this video. If you can watch this without at least tuning in to give the show a try, I'll be very disappointed in you.
HBO is also putting together a major outdoor campaign in the New York City (and LA) market. This campaign really has two objectives. Reintroduce "Big Love" to past viewers and reignite their enthusiasm. But clearly this is not just an attempt to reintroduce the show after a long hiatus from the writer's strike (the last show was in August of 2007), but also an attempt to entirely relaunch the show to a whole new group of viewers.
HBO's pantheon has changed since Big Love was first launched. The Sopranos franchise no longer rules with an iron hand. Now there are now at least three or four shows to promote (and more new ones coming in the coming months): Entourage, Flight of the Conchords, and Big Love. And then there's HBO's tremendous mini series programming like John Adams, Grey Gardens (coming this spring according to Drew Barrymore at The Golden Globes, and
Manhunt, based on the book by James L. Swanson about John WIlkes' Booth's flight after Lincoln's assasination.
So...HBO and Big Love has stormed Manhattan. Take a look at this Manhattan outdoor. It's hardworking: picturing key cast members and, in some wild postings, identifying the characters by name, something rarely done in television advertising.
Then, there's a unique Times Square campaign, running underground rather than in Times Square above ground where, like gladiators in the Roman Colosseum, outdoor spectaculars duke it out for eyeballs and mind share like this billboard takeover from Pepsi. So, HBO has bought precisely 42 posters running side by side in the tunnel that runs between 42nd Street Times Square and The Port Authority Bus Terminal. Are the 42 posters a subtle tie into the 42nd St and Times Square station? Or am I over-reaching?
The posters are unique because you can plug headphones into the people portrayed on the poster and listen to their secrets, an allusion to the governing story line that HBO is focusing on in positioning Big Love as a show about "secrets." (That association is a bit vague for my taste in this advertising). It's all good fun, provided the technology works, there's room in rush hour to plug in, and the link to the "secrets" in the show is clear.
Beyond all this I was approached this morning by a man wearing a huge thought bubble above his head. It said "I think I'm ugly." He looked ridiculous. But he was impossible to miss. I walked up to him and said "Could I get the Big Love handout?"
Tomorrow's going to be damned cold. Wonder what will be happening in the land of Big Love promotion?
Scott Lackey
New York, New York
All original photos by Jugular Advertising.
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