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The campaign aims to generate awareness and inform the public that Canadian cable companies own the political specialty channel, a fact some viewers are unaware of, said Don Masters, president and creative director of Ottawa-based Mediaplus Advertising, the agency responsible for the effort.
“From past research we knew that some people had the impression that CPAC was owned by the government. That independent ownership and viewpoint is something we [Mediaplus and CPAC] feel is important as a selling feature of the station,” he said.
Four 30-second commercials feature everyday people like a lawyer, a student, and a “Bay street guy,” explaining why CPAC is important to them. In one spot, entitled “comedian,” a man explains that his wife and two kids are hooked on reality TV, while he’s hooked on the political news channel. He calls it political reality TV where “the main actors have to ad lib, be fast on their feet, project ideas, feelings and deal with hecklers. It’s a lot like what I do, but real and important,” he says. The commercials end with the tag line “CPAC. Created by cable for Canadians.”
The ads are meant to personalize reasons for watching CPAC, said Masters.
“It was a way of saying what politics and CPAC does and what it’s about is important to everybody—it’s really in the best interests of everyone that the political process serves us well and that we engage in it,” he said.
The commercials launched last month and are running on Toronto’s top five stations until the middle of May. Mediaplus Advertising also handled the media buy.
