Booktrust, the independent national charity which encourages people of all ages and cultures to discover and enjoy reading, has launched an animated DRTV (Direct Response TV) ad with a text call to action, encouraging fathers to read to their kids. The campaign follows the success of an ad which ran in February, which generated 80,000 book request responses.
The TV campaign features one 30-second and one 20-second animated ad, which will run across national ITV terrestrial channels and satellite channels, including Bravo and UK Dave. The ads will also run on a number of ethnic channels such as Zee TV and Star TV.
The longer ad shows a man picking up his son and taking a book with him for them to read on the bus together. The book transports them into space where they meet aliens before retuning to Earth in time for tea. The target male audience is encouraged to respond to the ads by texting
free from their mobile phones to receive a free storybook and
information about where to collect other free books.
The campaign was created by Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw. Media planning was by Trinity Communications, who were tasked with targeting hard-to-reach groups such as non-resident dads, low literacy groups and first-generation immigrants. Animation design was created by 12foot6, mobile response handling was by Incentivated and media buying was by Manning Gottlieb OMD.
Our creative approach was to create a fun and accessible TV campaign which highlights fathers in positive family roles and shows the many benefits of reading to their kids at any time – whether its bedtime or daytime or whether theyre at home or travelling around, says Kitcatt Nohr Managing Partner, Marc Nohr.
Incentivated Commercial Director Robert Thurner adds:
This campaign proves what we have known for some time. Mobile provides an immediate response to advertising, whether using above or below the line channels, and offers brands the accountability on a scale TV advertising has lacked for years. Text messages are time- and date-stamped, allowing us to correlate responses with the TV spots broadcast, which allow us to draw meaningful conclusions with far-reaching implications for advertisers.