Is there a more appropriate place to promote a polygamous lifestyle than alongside the wedding announcements in The New York Times? HBO doesn't seem to think so.
In an effort to promote the season two premiere of "Big Love," HBO's series about a man with three wives, the network ran four print ads, promoting fake brands, in relevant sections of the New York Times and Los Angeles Times.
Eau de Polygamie is a fragrance with the power to "Set yourself apart from his other wives"; Polygarol is an erectile dysfunction drug; Polybrook Haven is a housing community with enough room for every wife; and Polygaworld is a travel agency specializing in vacations for polygamists.
Faux branded ads ran in the wedding, real estate and travel sections of the two newspapers.
Creature created the campaign, which is devoid of branding save for the URL www.hbo.com/biglove. PHD placed the spot on media buy.
Ads are reminiscent of a cinema ad created a few years ago for the movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."
The spot never mentioned the movie or its launch date and promoted Lacuna, the memory-erasing product featured in the film. See it here.
Levitz Furniture also brokered a similar media buy last month in the Sunday edition of Newsday.
Furniture ads ran in the help wanted, travel, personals and automotive sections. An ad for a recliner in the personals section read, "Recliner seeking man. For long afternoons of watching football, extremely laid back." See the ad here. The travel section ad promoted "first class seats: leather, suede and hardwood." Click here to see the ad. DeVito/Verdi handled both creative and media buying aspects of that campaign.