by Amy Yen
The CW: The Secret Circle print insert
Agency: CW promotions department
Check out this elaborate print insert from the CW in the September 9th issue of Entertainment Weekly promoting their new fall show,The Secret Circle. The two-page insert opens up to an interactive ad of the show’s witch characters holding a candle, which the reader can light up by touching metal disks embedded in the ad. Touching the disks also activates an audio commercial for the show. The instructions on the ad tell the reader to blow out the candle to “protect [their] secret.” Sure enough, blowing on the ad activates a wind sensor in the ad & turns off the lighted candle.
An impressive, no doubt hugely expensive placement, it’s certainly attention-grabbing, with the insert bulking up the issue & the hardstock paper and various interactive components difficult to miss while flipping through the magazine. The CW is clearly putting a lot of promotion behind The Secret Circle, which is debuting behind their biggest hit, The Vampire Diaries, also from creator Kevin Williamson & also based on LJ Smith novels. I’ll definitely be giving it a shot, because of the good will Williamson buys, although honestly, despite the fact that the CW has successfully gotten my attention with its promotion, I don’t find the previews themselves to be particularly compelling. Watch a 6-minute preview here.
Instructions on the CW's interactive print insert for The Secret Circle (click to enlarge)
Filed under: Ad Posts, Amy Yen, I Watch, Like, a Lot of TV, Premiere Season Tagged: | ads, advertising, Amy in Wonderland, Amy Yen, amyyen, CW, Entertainment Weekly, EW, fall TV, fall TV premieres, Kevin WIlliamson, marketing, print advertising, print insert, promotion, Secret Circle, Secret Circle Entertainment Weekly, Secret Circle EW, The CW, The Secret Circle, Vampire Diaries
Hay what will happen in the next episode of The secret circle.