The magical world of Harry Potter is starting to blend with the muggle (i.e. non-wizard) world in Toronto thanks to Warner Bros.’ outdoor marketing campaign for its new film Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.
A vacant storefront in the city’s busy Queen Street West neighbourhood has been renovated to serve not only as a surface for outdoor advertising, but as a home for a scene from the film.
On the outside, the store is covered in the film’s “Good and Evil” campaign posters, while the inside has been magically transformed into Prof. Dumbledore’s office at Hogwarts, the school Potter attends.
Dianne Schwalm, senior vice-president, theatrical marketing for Warner Bros. Canada, said the project was conjured six months ago after hearing news reports of an increase in retail vacancies in Toronto.
“It made me think of Harry Potter, because in the film the wizard world breaks into the real world,” Schwalm said. “I thought it would be fun to transform a series of store fronts into the theme of Harry Potter.”
In the end only one storefront was used because retail vacancies decreased and the renovation work required was both costly and time consuming.
Patrick Little, executive producer at outdoor signage company Juxtaproductions, oversaw the building’s transformation. This included building the office set, removing graffiti, scrubbing and painting the exterior, and replacing the street-facing windows.
Earlier this month when actor Tom Felton, who plays the villainous Draco Malfoy in the film series, arrived in Toronto for a series of promotional public appearances, he conducted interviews and autograph signings at the location.
The storefront is part of the overall out-of-home leg of the film’s campaign, which includes transit and billboard ads.
Schwalm said promoting the franchise actually costs less compared to other summer blockbusters because it has years of buzz and popularity supporting it.
“Harry, as a franchise, has great awareness. We’re not worried about getting our message out. But it is a tent-pole film, and I think a certain amount of advertising should speak to the elevation of the franchise brand.”
