• by Karl Greenberg , March 7, 2011

The National Hockey League will tout the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs via an ad campaign to run on NBC Sports, which is broadcasting the tournament. The TV, online, radio, print, in-arena, in-store point-of-purchase, mobile and social media campaign will also run on NHL, NBC and Versus properties plus CNBC and MSNBC.

The effort -- via the NHL, NBC Sports Group and Versus, with Young & Rubicam providing guidance -- uses the same tag that the NHL employed last year to promote the Stanley Cup tourney, "History Will Be Made." The NHL said if it isn't broke, don't fix it: last year's playoffs garnered 302 million TV viewers, the largest number in 36 years.

This year, as was the cast in 2010, the league will have a social media element that lets people download the music composed for the campaign. The music will be at NHL's Facebook page.

There is also a huge flotilla of TV spots for the campaign, starting with an initial raft of 22 ads, beginning with two setting sail on Sunday during the NBC Sports broadcast of the Chicago Blackhawks at Washington Capitals game. The league says 20 more will have aired by April 13, the first day of the Playoffs. Then, starting April 14 through the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Final, a new spot will be produced each day, each of which highlights a key moment from the previous night's games.

Brian Jennings, NHL EVP of marketing, said in a release that social media and consumer-generated content are central to the program. He said last year "fans brought handmade 'History Will Be Made' signs to games and shared their own versions of the campaign on YouTube. Players even referenced the campaign in post-game interviews.

"This year, by taking a truly collaborative approach on creative, production and media with NBC Sports and VERSUS, we expect the campaign to continue to reach and resonate with even more fans, further helping to drive interest and viewership."