• by Aaron Baar , June 17, 2009

Consumers have a wide array of sites where they can search for goods and services online -- Google, Yahoo, and Bing, to name a few. Yellowbook is looking to lift its brand to top-of-mind with a new advertising campaign that looks to brand the time when a consumer is searching for something as a "Yellowbook moment."

"People almost have this involuntary reflex; we all go to Google," Marty Orzio, chief creative officer of ad agency Gotham, which created the campaign, tells Marketing Daily. "Particularly in the case of extreme urgency, you don't think about where you're going to. If we could force people to think about these moments, the others will fall into place."

The television campaign, which is airing nationally, humorously depicts moments that could lead to a popular search term. In the first spot, as a man walks through the door of his house, the picture freezes and onscreen text (encased by yellow brackets) declares: "A Yellowbook moment is about to happen."

The man then trips over the doorway and lands on a coffee table. He tells his wife that he got a new job working for an explosives company, saying he will be working with dynamite, blasting caps, etc. As he stumbles away, his wife begins a search for "life insurance" on Yellowbook.com. "The moment you need it, Yellowbook it," says a voiceover to conclude the spot.

"We wanted to keep the spots as relatable as possible," Orzio says of the executions. "Whenever you come through in an emergency situation, the product always looks more heroic."

The new Yellowbook campaign, which began airing this week, also includes radio, out-of-home and banner ads online, Orzio says. In addition, the company is creating a place on its Web site where people can share their own "Yellowbook moments," that could eventually be turned into new television commercials, he says.