To build excitement for the premier of the third season of HBO’s hit True Blood the agencies Digital Kitchen and …And Company created a viral campaign for the show. This campaign included a weekly distribution of twelve downloadable posters that were available online. The campaign is also made up of mobile ads and webisodes. The purpose of the campaign was to create excitement among the already very strong fan base and attract new viewers to the series. True Blood is one of my favourite shows and year after year their marketing efforts are consistently becoming more adventurous. These clever tongue-in-cheek advertisements varied from humorous themes to the darker and more shocking side of the show. The posters were also used to introduce new characters and storylines. Overall the advertisements were very entertaining and did an excellent job at making references to favourite fan moments and inside jokes. This campaign is effective because it got people excited and talking about what was going to happen in the new season. These advertisements were like a small reward to the loyal viewers of the show by giving them little sneak peeks to keep them satisfied until the premier. Many people were posting the different visuals of the campaign on their blogs and Facebook pages and fans were talking to each other trying to decipher what some of the less obvious posters meant. All of the buzz and excitement created by the show’s already loyal fans even got new viewers interested. This campaign is also effective because it utilizes the internet which is one of the fastest and most successful ways of communication.
This online promotional video titled "An Apology from HBO Marketing" is one of the most popular advertisements from the campaign.
