• by Wayne Friedman , January 31, 2022

ViacomCBS used the airing of CBS’ NFL’s AFC Championship game on Sunday to launch a new advertising campaign for its streaming platform Paramount+, under the “Mountain of Entertainment” theme.

Paramount Pictures' longtime iconic logo -- Paramount Mountain -- was the backdrop for a cross-section of ViacomCBS talent that participated in the spot, centered around a campfire.

This included Miranda Cosgrove ("iCarly), Pablo Schreiber ("Halo), Audra McDonald and Christine Baranski ("The Good Fight"), “Thomas Lennon ("Reno 911"),  Cartman ("South Park"), Johnny Knoxville ("Jackass"), and NFL players Matt Judon and Jalen Hurts.

The spot had a voiceover from singer/songwriter Tim McGraw, who is in the Paramount+ series “1883.” The tagline from the voiceover is: “Back on Paramount Mountain, where entertainment lives.”

ViacomCBS’ bonfire theme was in reference to the forthcoming “Halo” TV series on Paramount+ later this year. Creative on the campaign came from agency Droga5.

A year ago, ViacomCBS’ Paramount+ had the benefit of running a multi-promotional spot during the airing of its Super Bowl, also under the "Mountain of Entertainment" theme. Some 30 stars participated.

ViacomCBS says four different spots will air in various shows, including NBCUniversal’s Beijing Winter Olympics, CBS/TNT’s “March Madness” college basketball tournament, the NBA All Star Game, CBS’ “The Grammy Awards,” ABC’s “Good Morning America” and “American Idol,” NBC’s “This is Us,” AMC’s “The Walking Dead” premiere and Major League Baseball’s opening night.

Last year, 87,399 Paramount+ promotional and paid advertiser airings pulled in 21.7 billion impressions, with a total paid spend/media value of $155.3 million, according to iSpot.tv.

In December, ViacomCBS says Paramount+ added 4.3 million global subscribers for a total of 47 million global paid subscribers.