TBWA Touts Game Show Network

TBWA/Chiat/Day taps into the secret superiority complex harbored by the average game show watcher in its first consumer campaign for the Game Show Network.
Three TV spots and outdoor ads broke in three markets last week, with a rollout planned in other parts of the country later in the second quarter.
The spots show everyday people in a series of offbeat locations repeating the same word, such as “botulism” or “sputnik.” The viewer later realizes these people are talking or yelling at game show contestants on television. The hapless-looking players then give different answers and are buzzed for being wrong.
The San Francisco shop won the $5-10 million account in September.
The primary target are the one-third of U.S households whose cable providers offer the Game Show Network. The client is also trying to get game show fans to ask their cable operators to add the channel, said Dena Kaplan, senior vice president of marketing at the Culver City, Calif., network.
“The game show genre involves real people who are being put on the spot. That’s a powerful [draw],” said Chuck McBride, TBWA/C/D executive creative director. The agency discovered that viewers tend to think of themselves as smarter than the TV contestants. “When you are on your sofa at home, you’re always right. You are sure you could have won,” McBride said. Hence the new tag: “You know you know.”