Gillette and Mini ads target vampires for True Blood launch

by James Quilter , Brand Republic 11-Jun-09, 09:35

LONDON - HBO has brought in brands including Gillette, Harley-Davidson and Mini to create ads aimed at vampires to promote the US launch of the second series of 'True Blood', which will first air in the UK on FX.

True Blood is set in the Deep South and tells the story of vampires living on artificial blood and coexisting with humans. The series, which has won critical acclaim in the US, starts on June 14.

The campaigns consist of print, press and online ads and feature real products. The Mini execution features the headline 'Feel the wind in your fangs' while Harley-Davidson encourages vampires to 'Outrun the sun'.

Other brands involved include insurance company Geico and jobs site Monster.com, which featured the line "When you sleep in a coffin, it's easy to think outside the box."

However fans of the show have questioned Gillette's razor ad. Some wonder whether vampires would need the product as their bodies remain in the same condition as when they died.

Last year HBO created a series of ads for fake products targeted at vampires, including a brand of synthetic blood, to promote the show.

Other marketing includes a tie-in with the Gawker media network to create a series of fictional blogs written by a recently-turned vampire.

The blogs have been syndicated through Gawker sites such as gadget site Gizmodo and gaming site Kotaku. Different versions have been created to suit to the site's audience.

'True Blood' was created for HBO by 'Six Feet Under' creator Alan Ball and is based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris.

Fox-owned FX's acquisition of the UK rights follows that of 'Generation Kill' from 'The Wire''s creators, David Simon and Ed Burns.

'True Blood' will make it onto terrestrial TV in October when it airs on Channel 4, which was also home to 'Six Feet Under'.

Mini unveils Vampire-themed ad to promote the launch of True Blood

Comments

Arindam Roy - 11/06/2009

Superb!

Kayla Gerken - 11/06/2009

Smart, cohesive, extremely well-written. Will continue to get people talking about the show and bring a new edge to these brands... even those who initially associate "vampire" with Twilight.