Lifetime Sends Women Waving Bras into NYC
Only in New York kids.
Dozens of women dressed in bathrobes and waving bras hit city streets yesterday, setting the stage for Lifetime Television’s biggest marketing campaign to promote the new reality series “How to Look Good Naked.”
About 160 are taking part in the “March of the Robes” stunt, riding on mass transportation handing out “Happy Nude Year” cards, which feature a humorous audio greeting from host Carson Kressley, best known for his role on “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.” The reps can also be found handing out compact mirrors while standing in front of Funhouse mirrors in New York, Los Angeles and Miami, FL.
In all, more than 250,000 greeting cards—also distributed last month in malls in 11 markets—and 20,000 compact mirrors will be handed out.
It’s one of several marketing efforts Lifetime is using to promote the show, which premieres tonight at 9 p.m. ET.
A promotional partnership with Redbook magazine includes features for upcoming issues highlighting women from the show. Seven 15-second vignettes, produced by the network, will run during each episode with Redbook’s editor-in-chief offering key tips featured in the magazine. Product placement deals with Vespa and Elf Cosmetics will appear in the first episode.
Online at http://www.mylifetime.com, Lifetime offers beauty and fashion tips from Kressley, rich media e-cards and a “shake ‘em naked” gadget which users can post in their Facebook, MySpace and other social networking profiles.
On the site, people can also enter the Feel Good and Flaunt it contest, sponsored by Keri Renewal, by uploading photos and a 300-word essay describing why they should win through Jan. 13. More than 3,000 photos have been entered so far.
The grand-prize winner gets a trip for two to New York City to have lunch with Kressley, a $2,000 shopping spree, a Vespa scooter and a meet-and-greet with Redbook editors. Ten runners-up receive Keri Renewal products.
Outdoor marketing, including wild postings at construction sites and mirror clings in Simon Malls, TV spots, radio promotions and print ads in Entertainment Weekly, OK Magazine, People, Redbook, Self and TV Guide support the promotion.
Based on the British hit “How to look Good Naked,” the U.S. show teaches women how to love their bodies without having to resort to dieting or plastic surgery. In each half-hour segment, Kressley helps one woman change her self image.
