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Actor David Carradine arrives for the 16th annual Environmental Media Awards on Nov. 8, 2006, in Los Angeles. Carradine is working with Baltimore-based TBC to help market Yellow Book nationally.
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - TBC wants to hear some phones ringing.
Helping to launch a national campaign for Yellow Book USA, a Uniondale, N.Y.-based phone book and online search company, Baltimore-based advertising agency Trahan, Burden, Charles enlisted actor David Carradine to help get Yellow Book’s message out.
“We spent quite a bit of time,” said Allan Charles, TBC’s founding partner and chief creative officer. “It’s a six-month process between the writing and planning and wardrobe and sets and editing and music. It was tremendous amount of fun to work on and we have done quite a few successful commercials with them.”
A television and online campaign, the advertisement is aimed at local businesses using Yellow Book’s services to reach customers. To make the spot have a particular Baltimore feel to it, TBC filmed the ad at its Fells Point offices and had sets constructed locally.
In the ad, which launched July 9, Carradine portrays a mystical ad “guru” who tries to show businessmen the path to “advertising enlightenment.” The television spot — appearing in 30- and 15-second versions — was decided on after the success of Carradine in a similar role last year. Yellow Book and TBC said they were thrilled Carradine would resume his role in the spot.
Starring in more than 115 movies or television shows, Carradine is not only a recognized face but a pleasure to work with, Charles said.
“Working with Carradine was one of the really great things,” he said. “We were looking for someone we thought would be interesting and different in a commercial, and he is an amazing guy.”
Last year’s television spot exemplifies six years of TBC work with Yellow Book. Annually, Yellow Book publishes nearly 123 million copies of 1,000 print directories.
“TBC was attractive to us for a number of reasons,” said Gordon Henry, chief marketing officer for Yellow Book USA. “We liked them from a size perspective — a good size by independent standards, but not so big we felt we wouldn’t get a lot of care from the top folks. It’s been a nice relationship ... and we have been pleased.”
At a glance
Trahan, Burden, Charles
900 S. Wolfe St.
Baltimore, 21231
410-347-7500
tbc.us
dcarey@baltimoreexaminer.com
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9:49 AM MST on Fri., Jun. 22, 2007 re: "YMCA of Central Maryland begins rebranding"
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Examiner Reader said:
Reisterstown is pretty much in central Maryland, but we are not served by the YMCA of Central Maryland. Families have moved north and west of the city over the years increasing the population of this area and Owings Mills. The Jewish Community Center in Owings Mills is the only non-profit that provides services like the YMCA. Towson, Cationsville, have YMCA's, but we don't have one in the Reisterstown area.
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