Following a teaser phase to stoke critic and influencer buzz, the tune-in phase brought “Hacking Reality” to life through entertaining, original content.First-to-market executions included Vanity Fair “Parties to Die For” advertorial featuring fanged celebrities, AM New York “vAMp New York” custom insert of vampire-targeted editorial, LA Times cover wrap and Entertainment Weekly 12-page domination. Co-branded faux ads featured in print and OOH advertised “real” products to the “vampire consumer” with brands including Geico, Gillette and Mini Cooper.Theatre lobby and screen domination coincided with popular and relevant film releases, and True Blood-branded coffee sleeves mocked the “Cup of Joe” expression in true vampire fashion: drinking a cup of “Joe” at Comic Con.

Online, a Gawker partnership created the perception they had purchased Bloodcopy.com, a vampire website. A viral video featuring top chef Tom Colicchio cooking vampire-friendly fare was featured on sites including IMDB, Gawker and Yahoo TV.

The “True Blood” Season 2 campaign took a serious bite out of the competition: Season 2 Premiere: • 6m+ viewers tuned into the 6/14 premiere!

• Premiere ratings jumped 63% vs. the Season 1 finale and 162% vs. the Season 1 premiere in 2008 • HBO’s most-watched programme since “The Sopranos” 2007 finaleOverall Awareness and Tune-In: • Programme Awareness: +23%• Intent to Tune-In: +15%• HBO Network Recall: +17%Age 18-34 Awareness and Tune-In:• Programme Awareness: +20%• Intent to Tune-In: +12%• HBO Network Recall: +18%(Sources: Marketing Evolution April Pre-Launch vs. Premiere Week; Nielsen Audience 06/14/09)