'True Blood' integrates major ads

Variety gushing all over True Blood marketing

TV shows typically don't have the backing of major advertisers the way Hollywood tentpoles do upon their release.

But for the second-season launch of "True Blood," HBO enlisted eight major marketers to create vampire-themed campaigns in major newspapers and magazines, on billboards and across the Web. It's a push any marketing maven would die for.

The Mini car brand touts a blood-red convertible with the tagline "Feel the wind in your fangs" while Geico claims it can save vampires 15% on auto insurance. Monster.com offers "thousands of night shifts," and a new fragrance from Marc Ecko promises to "attract a human," accompanied by a titillating shot of a vamp about to snack on a model.

Comcast, DirecTV and Harley-Davidson were also involved in the effort scared up by Digital Kitchen, which produced 30 ads for the brands, and designed the main titles for the show.

HBO was looking for a campaign that stressed how vampires live among us, with vampire-specific product concepts from the companies. The faux ads look like stuff the brands might actually conjure up themselves.

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