BSkyB's Tactical Tribute To The King Of Pop

The day after the death of many generations’ musical hero, the world was thrown into Michael Jackson retrospective mania, with the air-waves being crowded with his hits, and the press dedicating page after page in his honour.

All of the major TV broadcasters also got involved in the hype by airing documentaries of the singer’s career the evening after his death. In order to promote their Michael Jackson show and win viewers over from other channels, Sky 1 knew they had to announce their programme before the competition. 

JC Decaux offered Sky the opportunity to advertise the show - which was to be aired at 9pm that night - through the use of their digital LED screens. To provide synergy to the campaign, the Michael Jackson slot was to run after the Sky news content slots, which were dominated by information on the untimely demise of the king of pop.

Following the full collaboration of ipm, Sky, Brothers and Sisters (the creative agency), and JC Decaux, the campaign went live at 11am. This was only twelve hours after the news of Jackson’s death and two hours after Decaux’s offer. This speedy turnaround made the campaign one of the most reactive of recent times, and shows why digital really is the future of outdoor.  

By Craig Barber