Rogers launched a digital ad campaign on Feb. 12 to promote its TV companion app, Anyplace TV Home Edition. The interactive campaign stars Canadian comedian Colin Mochrie of Whose Line Is It Anyway? and This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
Created by Publicis, the ads ask consumers to click various parts of a display banner, prompting Mochrie to move around the ad as the app’s features are explained. If a user clicks on ‘change channels,’ for example, Mochrie acts out popular shows and films by humming The Simpsons’ opening credits or imitating dinosaur scenes from Jurassic Park.
Shelagh Stoneham, Rogers’ senior vice-president and general manager of brands and marketing, said Mochrie was chosen because of his cross-generational appeal, which fits the campaign’s target for both families and 14 to 24-year-olds. Stoneham said Mochrie is meant to personify the TV, which the user can control with a click. “For this to work, we needed a great improvisational comedian that would bring life, energy and a sense of spontaneity to the experience. And no one fits this description better than Colin Mochrie – one of Canada’s most well-known improv actors,” she said.
The campaign was featured in a one-day homepage takeover of Yahoo.ca on Feb. 15 and will be featured as rich media on several Glam Media properties, including Cooks.com, Zimbio.com and GoodReads.com. The media buy, handled by OMD, also includes YouTube preroll ads.
Rogers released its Anyplace TV Home Edition application for iOS in early Dec. 2012 as a mobile ‘companion’ for its internet and digital TV customers. The app acts as an interactive remote, provides an interactive TV guide and allows subscribers to stream 25 channels.
