Blu-ray Promotions Begin

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 11/21/2006

Austin, Texas – A consortium supporting the launch of the Blu-ray Disc format announced the start of a holiday advertising campaign targeting HDTV owners.

The group, which includes Twentieth Century Fox, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Sony and Warner Bros., hired the ad agency SicolaMartin to develop the campaign.

The effort includes a 30-second commercial shot for high-definition television that is running through the holiday shopping period.

It will be combined with print and online media vehicles, and builds upon earlier advertising efforts directed at home-entertainment enthusiasts, the companies said.

The high-definition TV commercial features movie clips and animation accompanied by music and an announcer who describes the various benefits of Blu-ray Disc technology.

“We chose to go heavy on film clips from several studios to reinforce the widespread industry support that Blu-ray enjoys.These popular images will strike a chord with a wide range of the target market, plus it’s just a great way to demonstrate the Blu-ray experience,” stated Chris Wood, SicolaMartin creative director.

Targeting HDTV owners, the ad is running on HD cable stations including Discovery HD, INHD and HDNet.

The expanded print campaign now runs in lifestyle magazines, including GQ and Popular Mechanics, in addition to AV and technology enthusiast titles including Home Theater, Home Entertainment and Wired.

The print campaign is anchored by a four-page ad, and is designed to educate and excite HDTV lovers about Blu-ray’s technological benefits.

The online segment, which has previously run on CNET, PCWorld, Wired, Google and Yahoo!, has been expanded and will also run on IMDb.com, GameSpot.com and ESPN.com.

Both print and online spots are filled with popular entertainment icons from movies, music and gaming such as Superman, Human Torch from “Fantastic Four,” and singer John Legend in a backdrop saturated in various tones of the color blue.

“This campaign showcases all of the reasons why informed consumers are excited about Blu-ray,” said Tim Baxter, Sony strategic marketing senior VP. “Beyond being assured an extensive selection of titles and players, consumers can learn what makes Blu-ray Disc a superior platform.”

“This kind of promotional effort is unprecedented,” said Peter Staddon, executive VP/marketing for Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

He noted, “The fact that such a large group of industry heavyweights support Blu-ray Disc is good news for consumers who want to be assured that Blu-ray is the format of choice by industry leaders.”