In 2007 a flood of spectacularly innovative direct marketing filtered through a variety of avenues from parcel mail to billboards and the internet for the smash hit vampire series True Blood. Vials of fake blood substitute, postcards written in cryptic code, false ads for Monster, MiniCooper and Diesel Jeans geared towards vampires inundated the masses with vampire-centric messaging successfully cultivating hordes of fresh new vampire fans, while thoroughly sating the bloody palettes of those long-time worshipers of the undead. However, despite the vast efforts of the marketing geniuses behind the True Blood campaign, they have yet to pull off a promotional piece quite as intricate and inspiring as the one featured below. This is not just advertising, it is a fully interactive installation art piece designed to thoroughly engage the viewer on multiple levels.
The property, which is located at 224 Queen Street West, at the corner of Queen and McCaul in Toronto, Canada, is a deceivingly innocent looking coffee shop from the outside. That is, until one pauses to take a second look. As reported earlier this week by the Torontoist website:
Inside, the glass fridges are filled with bags of fake blood, newspapers blaring “China to stop all blood exports” headlines line the windowsill, and the drink list looks like a vampire’s favourite meal. Stepping back, there’s a sign reading “Capture Humans” with Uncle Sam pointing at the passing pedestrians. And above that, a gigantic billboard advertising the new vampire thriller, Daybreakers.
The space, rented out by Juxta Productions, an outdoor-advertising sign studio located on Front Street, is called the Daybreakers Blood Café. If you have the opportunity to check out this promotional installation do so now because apparently the Toronto group Illegal Signs, an organization dedicated to eradicating unlawful billboards around the city, has deemed the usage of the billboards illegal because "it violates the fire safety provisions on the Ontario Fire Code for obstructing windows required to be unobstructed under the code.” The case was recently presented before the City Council, but the judgement is unknown at this time.
This usage of space in such an artistic manner for advertising has led me to wonder if this will inspire future vampire, as well as other films, to up the ante on their own promotions, possibly turning entire portions of cities into interactive installation advertising venues? There are nearly forty vampire genre cinema and television projects set to be released this year alone. There is definitely an entire realm to be explored here and with the upcoming debut of the third season of True Blood, perhaps we will be given the opportunity to experience more of such genius enterprises.
For more information on the Daybreakers: Blood Cafe check out the article on the Toronotist (click here). All photos used in this article are by Christopher Drost/Torontoist.
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