The campaign kicked off at Comic-Con with a unique image for DEXTER. Showtime commissioned world renowned street artist Shepard Fairey to illustrate an image of Michael C Hall as Dexter in the style of classic street propaganda/political posters. The subversive image served as the perfect catalyst for creating buzz among entertainment enthusiasts, hard core fans and bloggers prior to the premiere thus building the foundation for the tune-in campaign.

Next, to drive viewership, Showtime leveraged the brand-equity of top consumer media to create breakthrough customized tune-in advertising. The Dexter Icon Campaign featured tune-in print ads tailored to mirror individual magazines. Multi-page custom advertorials engaged readers with unique content about the series. The magazine covers were utilized to create high-impact outdoor advertising. Online, Showtime Dexter-ized Yahoo! by creating an alternate user experience. Dexter 'hacked' Yahoo! with a homepage takeover featuring custom content, invasive ads and email domination.

Everyone was talking about DEXTER; from trade outlets to the red carpet, DEXTER was a hit. The campaign generated over one billion impressions. The premiere broke Showtime records making it the highest rated drama premiere resulting in a 21% increase in total viewership.