HBO Launches QR Code Campaign for Boardwalk Empire At Bus Shelters

HBO is known to be a TV series production company that don’t hold back whenever they have a new series to promote. Right after the ending of The Sopranos, HBO launched head-first into another project – the name Boardwalk Empire says something about what the series is going to be about. The writers and creators of the show includes Soprano writer, Martin Scorsese. Check out HBO website for more information about the new series. Heard that it is going to be a full-blown exciting new historical crime series.

Anyway, what we are interested in (as usual) is their promotional campaign. To promote Boardwalk Empire, the marketers included offline advertising, online promotion and also mobile marketing.

To promote the premiere of the series, the advertising agency that they have hired rolled out an elaborate campaign in the form of a billboard campaign in both New York City and Chicago. No, it is nothing gargantuan like the Levi’s ad campaign. It is more conventional than we have anticipated.

The QR Code campaign hit bus shelters instead, taking aim at bored bus passengers waiting for their rides. But to their credit, they did put a lot of thought into how to make it look interesting.

First of all, the billboard comes in the form of a large whiskey bottle, so, people are probably going to notice it and be curious. Right in the middle of the whiskey bottle, there is a very creatively done-up QR Code.

The QR Code resolves to a specially designed website but in order to get into the website, you need a password. Don’t worry, when you scan the QR Code, the password will be revealed to you. On top of viewing the special, exclusive trailer, mobile phone users will also get a special free first-drink deal at the ‘speakeasy’ event.

In New York, the billboards can be found along Broadway, Lexington, Amsterdam and Columbus. In Chicago, they were placed on various bus shelters in and around Clark & Madison, State & Lake, Wacker & Michigan.