The Toronto Star has a new, translucent ad treatment called a “glama wrap” for its front page.
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The broadsheet daily, which has an average weekday circulation of more than 361,000, debuted the new ad format in July with a full front page ad wrap for Shoppers Drug Mart as part of the brand’s ongoing 30 Days of Beauty campaign. It ran a second Shopper wrap last week, and will run another celebrating the company’s 50th anniversary in early September.
Star Media Group director Mark Spencer said he expects to sell more of the wraps to other advertisers in the near future.
“We expect to see a number of them as part of big campaigns over the next few months,” Spencer said.
Printed on thick specialty paper, the translucent stock displays an array of Shoppers Drug Mart beauty products while still offering a peek at the editorial content inside.
Spencer explained Shoppers Drug Mart challenged his sales team to come up with a new, buzz-worthy concept for the 30 Days of Beauty campaign. While fellow Torstar brand Metro has featured a variety of front page advertisements, this is a first for the Toronto Star.
“Advertisers are asking for many new, first-to-market ideas,” Spencer said, “It’s exciting for our industry that we’re challenged to do so.”
Tammy Smitham, a spokesperson for Shopper’s Drug Mart, said the company is pleased with the execution of the ad wrap.
“We felt the Toronto Star glama wrap provided a unique way to speak to our customers and build our brand,” Smitham said. “It has proven to be a successful vehicle to communicate key promotions as well.”
While the new treatment places a large ad over the front page, Spencer points out that the editorial content is still visible – as is the Toronto Star logo, printed on both the translucent stock and inside cover.
Spencer said it was essential to keep the logo on the front page, adding, “It’s important to subscribers the doorstep clearly has a Toronto Star on it every morning.”
