Half Time, Two Heads, One New Media Brand

At a time when virtually the entire media world seems obsessed with the advertisers in Fox's coverage of Super Bowl XXXIX on Sunday, the producer of last year's controversial Super Bowl half-time show is poised to make some noise again during half time.

If you live or work in New York area, then you may have seen ads running for the past month featuring two-headed dogs and lines such as "GOES COMMANDO," although the spelling of the words looks more like GO ES COMM AN DO. These teaser campaign gave no clue as to what they meant, but referred the curious to a Web Site featuring a "trick du jour" and promoting visitors to "sniff around."

An e-mail marketing campaign also encouraged people to check out the site, with the signature ending in "woof woof." Replying to the e-mail for more information elicited a growl, but it turns out the picture of the two-headed dog is the new logo of MTV2, which officially launches its new identity during the Super Bowl half-time show.

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The new network is targeting men 18-24, and will incorporate gaming and sports with its regular shows and some new additions ("Video Premiere Day").

The half-time show is being advertised heavily on MTV and MTV2, according to Tina Exarhos, executive vice president, marketing, MTV and MTV2. The ads encourage viewers to tune in and "see the future of TV on MTV and MTV2." A 15-minute promo will show a sample of what the new network will look like.

The logo redesign began about nine months ago when MTV Networks decided to give MTV2 a new identity to differentiate it from MTV. MTV2 also made a large Internet buy on gaming Web sites and handed out two-headed dog hats, t-shirts, and sweatshirts in the New York area.

The Night Agency worked with MTV2 on the Web site and outdoor/guerrilla aspects of the campaign.

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