• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, November 12, 2007

Open Book Toronto, a group that supports local books and authors in Ontario, launched a month-long nontraditional campaign to drive users to its Web site using a literary theme, fake ads, and, of course, humor.

The campaign bowed in October to coincide with the month that's traditionally known for its bevy of book launches.

A $50,000 budget went toward wild-postings, posters and subway ads that appeared, at first glance, to be advertisements for community colleges, dating services or real estate developments.

But they're not. A sticker was affixed to each ad asking passersby if the genre highlighted in the ad was the only one they were reading. For example, an ad for female escorts and a "kinky cougar" features a sticker that asks, "Is this the only local romance you're reading?" along with the Open Book Toronto URL.

Better still, many of the faux ads also include a fake URL for the brand being promoted, such as matingplace.ca or mooreheadcollege.ca. Visitors to the sites are treated to a splash page that leads them to openbooktoronto.com.

Taxi created the campaign and handled the media buy.

Stickers were also placed on graffiti in local bathroom walls that asked: "Is this the only local poetry you are reading?"

The campaign generated more than 8 million media impressions, and during its first launch week, the hoax Web sites directed more people to Open Book Toronto than Google, according to the agency.