Telus is hoping that fans of Canadian Idol will cheer for a new contender during tonight’s broadcast. To help promote its line of smartphones, the telcom has created Ron Ronn, an earnest Idol wannabe and product placement vehicle.
The character will appear in a series of 30-second spots airing on the show’s Monday night broadcasts. Ronn is portrayed as a musician who didn’t make it onto the show, but is now promoting his self-made national tour along with a sidekick named Meuller.
During the spots, the pair will be seen using Telus smartphones—a BlackBerry Curve and HTC Touch—and their various applications.
“We wanted to show people that smartphones from Telus are easy to use and make life easier,” said Tammy Scott, vice-president, marketing and communications at Telus.
The character will also make live appearances on the show and other venues that are yet to be determined. Scott is hoping the character will develop a fan base that will make him a viral hit. To that end, a microsite and Facebook fan page were set to go live today.
“I’ve always wanted to work on a brand that was cool enough that people wanted to wear the T-shirt,” added Scott. Telus has produced two T-shirt designs for the Idol campaign—a tour shirt with show dates at fictitious venues such as Benson Retirement Home, and a second that says “Dream big like a dolphin,” a reference to one the character’s many quirky personality traits.
Taxi, Telus’ agency of record, created the Idol campaign after the partnership between the show and Telus was announced in June. Rose Sauquillo, creative director at Taxi, said it will accompany the ongoing “Critters” marketing campaign, which uses animals and music to push the brand message, but will not overlap with it.
“The client wanted us to embrace the Idol property and do something that was relevant and would resonate with the audience,” said Sauquillo. “At that point we both agreed that perhaps we shouldn’t use critters for this exercise so we could make that connection.”
Ronn’s personality will develop over the course of 10 weekly segments to capitalize on what Sauquillo said is Canadians’ tendency to root for “an unlikely winner.”
“People like someone who’s endearing and has enthusiasm, but maybe doesn’t have the star power that others do.”
