• by Nina Lentini  @Nina_Lentini, September 25, 2007

On Monday, TV Guide launched a multimillion-dollar campaign to kick off the fall lineup of shows that purports to give viewers the "help" they need to get through the week between episodes of their favorite programs.

The effort, which runs through November, will run in TV Guide magazine, online at tvguide.com and on the TV Guide Network. It features 13 show-specific commercials that will run only in the last half of the episode and refers fans to relevant, unique and entertaining content, says Gemstar-TV Guide, at those media.

"With the continued enhancement of all our products, including the new TV Guide Magazine, the redesigned TVGuide.com web site and hours of new original programming on TV Guide Network, we felt this was the perfect time to launch a high-profile, integrated campaign," says Alan Cohen, CMO at Gemstar-TV Guide, in a release. "This effort is an important step in the continued revitalization of the TV Guide brand and in driving further awareness and usage of our products and services across the multiple platforms in which we operate."

Tailored to each show's title and premise, each ad utilizes a "countdown" element to highlight the length of time between episodes, and that, for true fans of the show, a week is a very long time to wait until the next episode. The ads then go on to assure the viewer that by tuning in to one of TV Guide's platforms, they will be provided with a "fix" that will help them get through the week. The "fix" refers to TV Guide's fresh and exclusive information on the shows, stars, characters and story lines as well as multimedia content including exclusive video, along with blogs and user communities where fans can go to interact about these shows. Each of the ads is punctuated with a cross-platform animated mnemonic, reinforcing TV Guide's print, online and network offerings.

The campaign, by Cramer-Krasselt, Chicago, creatively plays to how consumers are using television today, and to two distinct advantages held by TV Guide: the long-standing relationships the company shares with the networks (all of which were involved in the process of developing brand-appropriate messaging for each program), and the unparalleled level of access that TV Guide's reporters and editors have to news and information about the television shows.

The TV spots will appear weekly on the following shows (in alphabetical order): "America's Next Top Model," "Brothers & Sisters," "CSI," "Dancing With the Stars," "Desperate Housewives," "Friday Night Lights," "Grey's Anatomy," "Heroes," "House," "Prison Break," "Survivor: China," "The Office" and "Ugly Betty."

In addition to the TV spots, the campaign extends online, with banner and interactive units that support the viewers' emotional connection to a show and their anticipation of the next episode. The media plan is a mix of high-reach entertainment sites, as well as show-specific pages within the broadcast and cable network sites.

On Friday, TV Guide will give consumers in select coffee shops in L.A., N.Y. and Chicago free cups of coffee to "get them through the day," while letting them know that the TV Guide brand will help "get them through the week." The program also provides all patrons with the current issue of TV Guide.