• by Amy Corr  @MediaPostOTL, December 30, 2005

CBS first learned of "coolertising," advertising on store water coolers, when a CBS executive saw a campaign for Dove soap's "Cool Moisture" in action.

The exec pitched the outdoor ad medium to the network as a way to promote "Out of Practice," a show starring Henry Winkler that launched in September.

Satisfied with the results from the first campaign, the network is once again turning to "coolertising" to promote another show--this time its midseason replacement "Courting Alex," a comedy starring Jenna Elfman.

The company behind "coolertising" is AquaCell Media, a subsidiary of AquaCell Technologies.

Ads are placed on permanently attached bottles of water coolers installed in pharmacy waiting areas of drugstores.

Hoping to drum up water cooler buzz a second time, the ads will appear in hundreds of Rite Aid and Duane Reade stores in the New York and Los Angeles areas.

As with many alternative forms of outdoor advertising, it's not easy to calculate the number of eyeballs that will be exposed to the ads. While AquaCell estimates that thousands will see the ad--varying from store to store--only 50 to 100 cups are used a day per water cooler, a number that AquaCell tracks.

CBS signed a three-month contract with Aquacell for the first quarter of 2006.

"Courting Alex" premieres on January 23 and also stars Dabney Coleman, Hugh Bonneville, and Josh Stamberg.