The National Aquarium in Baltimore is intentionally trying to weird you out. Their latest advertising campaign, launched by gkv communications and MGH on March 26, demonstrates what would happen if the habits of underwater creatures took place in the real world.
One television spot produced by gkv features a boy at a middle-school dance attempting to win the affections of a girl by imitating a loud foghorn sound ? the one that oyster toadfish uses to attract females.
“We wanted to make people aware of all these fascinating creatures that you zoom by on the way to the dolphin show,” gkv Associate Creative Director Dave Brocious said . “Once you push your nose up to the glass, they are really kind of weird and interesting.”
“It was almost promoting the creatures who have been ignored for the last 20 years,” gkv Vice President, Management Supervisor Chris Barrick said.
The campaign encompasses five television spots, plus radio, print, online advertising, search engine marketing and billboard and taxi top advertising.
National Aquarium Director of Strategic Marketing Suzanne Rothrock had a strong first response to the campaign.
“It was fun and engaging and just what we needed to highlight the aquarium as a whole,” she said. “How all of the animals are fascinating. We wanted to invite people back to take a look again.”
Rothrock said the most commonly uttered phrase they hear from children and adults at the Aquarium is “That?s weird!” Taking a cue from the visitors, the campaign features the tagline “It?s weird down here.”
In addition to the creative advertising, gkv also developed an online microsite, www.aqua.org/weird, that features downloads and interactive games in order for Web users to fully immerse themselves in the strange and bizarre.
“We think people will come back and want to see these animals they may have seen before and can look at in a whole different light,” Rothrock said.
The campaign will run through September in Baltimore, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Harrisburg, York and Lancaster.
