America the Story of Us

America the Story of Us

Educational advertising has been specifically used by various industries in order to successful push their products. If you remember the Einstein Baby Videos, the Mattel Toys, and the Fisher and Price Gadgets…these were sold to consumers as things that could help jumpstart their baby’s intellectual and physical development process. Not sure if they actually did the trick, but advertising has now entered even the historical arena.

The History Channel and ArtLumiere has partnered to bathe three United States landmarks in old-age images of our humble “log-cabin” past to promote their new show about “America the Story of Us.” Quite patriotic, this show does highlight a recent poll, where more Americans know the mascot of McDonalds than the last two presidents of the United States. However embarrassing this may be, this advertising campaign does merit significant value for marketing; as it is one of the few that has a unified partnership with Xbox, Pandora, and MSN. Using a broad array of media outlets, the History Channel hopes to successful promote this new series.

But what I found most intricate was its use of buildings. If we remember from the Zara Case, the concept of store-front as an ad is one philosophy ArtLumiere has espoused. The landmarks that were chosen [Central Station, Union Station, Wilshire Hotel] all have significant visibility and consumer traffic. Not only are the partnerships here unique, as a first for the History Channel and one with a historical basis, but the use of storefronts as a low-cost marketing strategy is the more admirable.

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/nontraditional/e3i7db724a2489ff4cc258fc17ba32139b1