Seattle Times Breaks Pair of Copacino Campaigns

The Seattle Times is back on TV with three new spots, the newspaper’s first in three years. Three additional ads pro moting NW source.com, the Seattle Times Co.’s online entertainment guide, are also airing in the greater Seattle market.

Both campaigns were created by local shop Copacino and will run through the year. Copacino has worked with the Times for two years on print and radio work.

Because of a promotional agreement between the Seattle Times Co. and Belo, a Dallas media company, the media buy was actually a barter, said Jim Copacino, agency creative director. The Seattle Times Co. exchanged its own ad space for time on Belo’s three network and cable stations in the Seattle area, including the city’s NBC affiliate. The Seattle Times Co. spends an estimated $1-2 million a year on advertising.

Copacino said the modest budget yielded ads that have the feel of a “glorified home movie.” In one spot, a woman reads the Times while working out on a bike at the gym. As she pedals, a nearby exerciser edges closer for a look. A voiceover says: “Get your own Times.”

The campaign promotes single-copy sales, home delivery and the paper’s Web site, www.seattletimes.com, said Copacino.

The Seattle Times has daily circulation of 229,859, compared to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s 193,173. The two publish under a joint masthead on Sundays.

The NWsource.com spots feature “NW source guy,” an average fellow who investigates a restaurant, hiking trail and bed and breakfast in the ads. A voiceover explains his antics: “NWsource spends their time looking for the best places in the Northwest, so you can spend your time enjoying them.”

Bob Blethen, client vp of marketing, said he hopes to use these six ads in broader media campaigns going forward.