• by Aaron Baar , March 17, 2010

A consortium of Hollywood studios and cable companies is seeking to remind people that they can watch newly released video movies without the hassle of heading out to a video store or waiting for a mail delivery.

The group this week is launching a $30 million TV, print and online campaign under the theme "The Video Store Just Moved In," showcasing the ease with which digital cable customers can view the movies via their set-top boxes. Television ads in the campaign show two video store clerks debating how to categorize the store's movies. "For instance, 'Hot Actress,' 'Gory Battle Scenes,' 'Talking Critters,' 'Explosions,' 'Nerd Gets Hot Actress,'" says one. "What about 'Foreign Films?'" asks the other clerk. "I said that: 'Hot Actress,'" says the first clerk. The end of the spot reveals that the video store is in the lower level of a customer's house where a just-ordered video is transmitted directly to the customer's TV.

"Our customers love On Demand. They use it all the time, and they watch it," Diana Kerekes, vice president of entertainment services for Comcast (one of the consortium members), tells Marketing Daily. "Movies are a huge component of that."

While the ads feature movies such as "Precious" and "Twilight: New Moon," future ads will change to reflect current movies available through the Movies On Demand service. Print and interactive ads continue the themes.

"With the studios' participation, we're able to capitalize on all of the movies that we have to offer," Kerekes says. "It's important for us to share the value of this [product] with our customers. It expands the consumer awareness and convenience for our customers."

In addition, the campaign introduces a new universal logo for the "Movies On Demand" service, which includes the service name and a green triangle signifying "Play" on a video player. The green color is meant to tie in the service to the green beam of light that travels from the fictional video store to the customer's house in the television spots.