Campaign: Two and a Half Men, series nine
Client: Comedy Central
PR team: EdenCancan
Timescale: February 2012
Budget: £20,000
Objectives
- To create awareness of the new series
- To tie the campaign into the on-air promotional theme of 'obsession'
- To use social media to reach a 16- to 34-year-old male audience.
Strategy and plan
The PR team discovered there are several villages in the UK called Ashton. It decided to take over four of them during a two-day period and rename them Ashton Kutcher. The team snuck into each village in the early hours and changed road signs, renamed village shops and placed a bust of Ashton in the local pub. The reaction it sparked among local residents was caught on camera and offered to the media. It also created a 'fake' Twitter account of an obsessive Kutcher fan who tweeted Kutcher.
Measurement and evaluation
The campaign generated more than 58 pieces of national coverage. Kutcher, who was unaware this was a PR stunt, responded to the team's tweet, highlighting the campaign to his 9.5 million followers.
Results
Series nine showed a 29 per cent uplift on the previous season among the target audience. It was the highest rating series of the show so far on Comedy Central.
