The National Hockey League is set to launch an advertising campaign that uses images from playoffs past to build fan excitement for this year’s post-season.
The league’s “History will be made” campaign begins tomorrow on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada broadcast. The initiative consists of six spots that will be aired by the NHL’s broadcast partners in both Canada and the U.S. through the Stanley Cup final.
Each of the spots features a notable moment from NHL playoff history, from Bobby Orr going airborne after scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal in 1970, to Mario Lemieux’s highlight-reel goal in the 1991 final, to Ray Bourque completing his Hall-of-Fame career with a championship in 2001.
“We spent a lot of time thinking about what those iconic moments were that really defined the sport, the stuff that becomes legend and lore in water-cooler talk and gets passed down through time,” said Brian Jennings, executive vice-president of marketing for the NHL. “[The spots] really capture the emotion of those moments. We thought this was a really fun way to tee up the start of our playoffs.”
Jennings said that while the ads target avid fans, they can be effective in luring a less dedicated audience as well.
“[The campaign] pulls at the hard core, but it does so in a way that can really get the casual fan excited about what’s to come,” said Jennings.
The spots will also appear on NHL.com and other websites, as well as on arena screens. Jennings said that the league and its partners would build on the campaign with creative featuring current players leading up to and during the playoffs.
The league developed the campaign in consultation with agency of record Young & Rubicam.
