Ford goes big in Calgary
FORD OF CANADA is making its presence felt in Calgary in a big way. The automaker is promoting its F-Series pickup trucks on what is being touted as the largest sign ever produced in Canada. The 75-foot high by 200-foot wide billboard-printed in 18 individual sections and erected by a four-man crew over three days-is installed on the side of the Lougheed Building in downtown Calgary while it undergoes a renovation. The sign, erected by Mississauga-based TITAN OUTDOOR, will stay up until the end of the year. Deb Aldridge, group planning director for Toronto-based MEDIAEDGE:CIA, Ford’s longtime media agency, says Calgary is a “particularly important” truck market for the automaker and the agency wanted an outdoor installation that conveyed the F-Series’ status as Ford’s biggest-selling vehicle line. “What we wanted to do is find a location that fit the magnitude of this vehicle,” says Aldridge. Ford and Mediaedge:cia have partnered on other notable billboard executions in recent years, including a “living” billboard to promote the Escape Hybrid and an audio billboard for the Ford Mustang. “Outdoor is great,” says Aldridge. “But we’re always looking at what can we do to make it larger than life.”
-CHRIS POWELL
P&G highlights Canada Style
Procter & Gamble has signed on as the sole advertiser of a special edition of Flare magazine entitled Canada Style. The 84-page special edition, which has a print run of 206,000, is being polybagged with Flare‘s November issue. P&G brands featured in the issue include Pantene, Clairol, Cover Girl, Olay, Secret, Gillette Venus and Crest Whitestrips. “P&G Beauty is building up its fashion and beauty connection, so we thought this was a great project to support,” says P&G’s Carrie Truman. The special issue features what Truman calls “unique” and “different” ads created exclusively for use in Canada Style. The ads consist of photos showcasing the natural elements that contribute to “The Beauty of Canada,” juxtaposed with images of “Canadian beauty” created by P&G brands.
-CHRIS POWELL
Wild on Media seeks night life
When it comes to new ad tactics, WILD ON MEDIA is in the dark. The Toronto-based company added a new service called Night Sign to its product line, which includes video billboards, mobile media and mega-sized “sky murals.” Night Sign consists of an illuminated 8- by 36-foot sign-which displays scrolling and flashing messages-affixed to the bottom of a helicopter. Night Flight’s maiden journey occurred during September’s VIRGIN MUSIC FESTIVAL, with charter advertisers Pizza Pizza and Universal Music Canada each signing up for 1 1/2-hour flights. A typical four-weekend campaign on Night Sign-targeting either outdoor events such as music festivals or high-traffic venues such as the Air Canada Centre-costs $30,000, although Wild on Media can develop custom packages.
-CHRIS POWELL
IMA acquires StreetLife Media
Toronto’s IMA Outdoor has gotten a bit larger through a merger with Streetlife Media. The two outdoor companies will combine their advertising networks, consisting of IMA’s 600 signs at GO stations and Toronto’s Union Station and the Citylites Network of backlit posters in office towers in Toronto and Vancouver, combined with Streetlife’s 100 Parkads (backlit posters at parking lot booths), Adtents and freeway signs in Toronto and Montreal. Steve Franklin continues to lead IMA, while former Streetlifers Brian Rodkin and Danny Starnino are directors at the expanded company.
-SARAH DOBSON
City of Toronto takes drivers to school
The City of Toronto launched a road-safety campaign that uses a fictional “bad driving school” to create awareness of common driving misdeeds. For the campaign’s outdoor component, the city painted an old car in the colours and logo of the school owned by the fictional character Steve Fenton. The vehicle will be driven around the city to support the media campaign, which will run until early November. In radio ads, Fenton encourages his students to engage in unsafe practices such as running amber lights, cutting off other drivers and driving while talking on a cellphone. Toronto’s Axmith McIntyre Wicht developed the creative.
-MATT SEMANSKY
