Channel 4 is asking the public ‘What if we could start again?’ as part of its new marketing campaign to promote the upcoming series Eden.
Eden will follow 23 people as they face the challenge of building a new life and creating a new society from scratch in a remote Scottish location.
The campaign, developed by Channel 4’s award-winning in-house creative agency 4creative and media agency OMD UK, invites the public to consider what they would do differently if they were to start again, drawing attention to some of the facets of 21st century living that we could all do without.It includes posters on the Underground and in cities across the UK.
Each ad is specific to its exact location; for example, ads near phone shops carry the copy: “No cyber-bullying. No dodgy wi-fi. Dfntly no txtspk. What if we could start again?” Other ads include:
(Near banks) “No poverty. No recessions. No bankers’ bonuses. What if we could start again?”
(Near estate agents) “No housing crisis. No extortionate rent. No avocado bathrooms. What if we could start again?””
(Near coffee shops) “No brands. No added sugar. No skinny frappalappacinos. What if we could start again?”
Contextual ads will also appear alongside relevant content in newspapers and magazines, with The Metro giving Channel 4 the chance to see their headlines in advance so that the ad can be tailored to the story. An ad ran on the day of the referendum decision, with the copy: “No politics. No propaganda. No more not knowing.”
Contextually-relevant and reactive ads will also run online and in social media, on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Harry Dromey, Group Marketing Manager at Channel 4 said: “An epic show requires an epic campaign. Across the country, people will be seeing hundreds of different lines that are either relevant to the context in which they are in, or to what is going on in popular culture. All pose the central question behind the show, “what if we could start again?”. 4creative and OMD UK have covered themselves in glory coming up with the brilliant idea and executing it to perfection.”
Jack Croft and Stacey Bird, creatives at 4creative, said: “With 8000 years of human history to learn from, we wanted to make the public think about what they would ditch if someone hit the reset button. Set against the dreamy landscapes of Eden, the campaign poses big questions. Would we repeat the recession? Would we ditch gender inequality? Would we really have space in the new world for selfie sticks?”
Alongside the print campaign, genre specific promos are also airing across Channel 4 and online on All 4.
Eden starts on Channel 4 this July.
