Toronto, ON – ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation is running a new print campaign for the charity’s annual print media sale and fundraiser, the Gutenberg Media Grab.

This year, leading magazines, newspapers and outdoor media companies have donated more than $850,000 worth of ad space to the Media Grab. ABC CANADA will sell the inventory to advertisers online at 65 per cent off the rate card, on a “first-click, first-served” basis. The humorous campaign, developed by ACLC of Toronto, suggests that advertisers can put all the money they save on purchasing the deeply discounted ad space toward the development of their advertisement instead.

“This is a media sale, not an auction,” explains ACLC copywriter, Jamie Lamb. “You don’t have to outbid the other guy in order to grab the ad space. It also means there’s a huge savings for advertisers that could be used to develop a more eye-catching ad.”

The headline and theme of the campaign is “Spend less on ad space, more on your ad.” Each humorous execution portrays a ‘before’ ad with the caption “What you used to run,” and an ‘after’ ad indicating, “What you can run now.” In one execution for a fictitious flower shop, the before ad features a single rose in a vase, with the after ad featuring a cheesy male model posing seductively with the single rose.

“The challenge was to create a promotional campaign that is relevant to small and medium-sized companies who couldn’t otherwise benefit from a 65 per cent discount on media space, while also appealing to larger advertisers and media buying companies,” explains Alexandra Dunsmuir, director of marketing, ABC CANADA. “ACLC has tapped into an insight that is relevant to advertisers of every shape and size — everyone can relate to the idea of stretching your ad dollars a little further.”

In addition to trade ads in Marketing and Strategy, and banner ads on pubzone.com, masthead.ca and mediaincanada.com, the creative will also be used in a direct mail campaign to promote the Grab to advertisers across Canada. The Gutenberg Media Grab runs from April 23 - 27, with different media lot groupings sold each day. For more information, visit abcmediagrab.ca.

View the Ads: • Accounting Firm • Flower Shop

Contacts: Karen Benner, Manager of Communications, ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation, 416-218-0010 ext. 122 Neil White, SVP, ACLC, 416-422-7296

Credits: Tony Miller, SVP Creative Director; Jamie Lamb, Copywriter; Rory Kelly, Art Director