CBS Plays Up Sex in Pair of Promos
September 11, 2008 5:00 PM
The CBS marketing team is in the mood for a little "Sex."
To hype its new comedy “Worst Week,” CBS has crafted a promotion that’s an homage to the opening titles of HBO’s “Sex and the City.” But instead of Carrie getting splashed by that cab, “Worst” star Kyle Bornheimer gets drenched. There’s even a sound-alike version of the “Sex” theme song.
The biggest difference between the CBS promo and the “Sex” credits: Mr. Bornheimer ends up with a very visible wet spot in his crotch area, prompting laughter from a group of schoolgirls. The scene plays into the show’s theme, namely that Mr. Bornheimer’s character is forever having the worst week of his life.
CBS’ hypemeisters are also using familiar musical cues to promote another new series.
Ads now airing for “The Ex List” feature series star Elizabeth Reaser walking down a city street alongside a slew of her ex-flings, all to the tune of Queen’s “Somebody to Love.” Each of the exes wears a T-shirt emblazoned with a phrase—“First Kiss,” “Happened in Vegas”—describing his relationship to Ms. Reaser’s Bella Bloom. Bella, perhaps in a nod to “The Bachelorette,” also plucks petals from a flower as she prances to the musical stylings of Freddie Mercury.
You can check out the two ads behind the cut.
—Josef Adalian
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Comments (3)
Great use of a Queen song in the Ex List spot (you've gotta love Mr. Mercury). However, I'm a little bit less of a fan of the "Friends-esc" font used at the end...
Posted by Preston Hershorn | September 11, 2008 6:07 PM
Great spots! CBS promo always does the best work...keep it up!
Posted by Jippolippo | September 12, 2008 1:29 PM
Oh that's fantastic!! I love it. I love that CBS brings the humor right off the bat. Time to set my DVR for Sept 22nd!
Posted by HockeyGirl08 | September 12, 2008 2:29 PM