iFUSE, a new content site aimed at hip
youngsters, on Monday launched a $10 million print branding campaign to
build its image with its target audience.
The campaign’s theme is “Fight the Monster,” which refers to various evils,
including fear, stupidity, insecurity, mind numbing routine, rusty
approaches and outmoded ways of thinking. Ads were created by Butler, Shine and Stern.
The print ads, which will appear in Entertainment Weekly,
Vibe, and Urb, show signs of a reptilian adversary in various
locations. In one, a young couple watches the beast’s silhouette in an
underground parking ramp. In another, a tail slides around the corner of a
girls’ locker room. The final ad shows a Latino kids spotting the “Monster”
from an urban rooftop.
“The theory here is that the youth audience doesn’t need anything
‘explained’ but prefers to discover for itself,” said Stefan Gerard, vice
president of marketing at iFUSE.
Another segment of the campaign using the same slogan, but created by Black
Market Visual Communications, will appear in certain action sports
publications. These ads tie the “Monster” to imagery linked specific
sports, such as surfing and skating.