Joining their ranks is Toys “R” Us starting this week to roll out a Christmas ad blitz, the first work from its new creative agency, BBDO. The centerpiece of the campaign, with television, print, digital and social components, is a new theme, "Awwwesome" -- mashing up the warm emotion of "Awww" and the youthful enthusiasm of "Awesome!"
More than two dozen broadcast networks and cable channels will carry the commercials, which will also appear during syndicated shows on local stations; complementary ads will run on networks' websites. And there'll be exclusive content on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and YouTube.
Visitors to the Toys "R" Us YouTube channel will find spoofs of the phenomenon known as unboxing videos, which show people reacting as they open packages with new purchases or gifts inside. In the Toys "R" Us parodies, toys will unbox other toys.
Also on tap is the 2015 edition of the annual Great Big Christmas Book catalog, due out at the end of the month.
The BBDO Atlanta office is developing and creating the campaign as the BBDO New York office handles the account and strategic tasks. Toys "R" Us spends an estimated $110 million or more each year on advertising. Of course, the lion's share, around $90 million, comes in the fourth quarter, wooing holiday shoppers.
"Christmas is vitally important to us," Lennox said. "It is our Super Bowl, the time of year we turn all our marketing dials to 'full.'" The campaign will ramp up Nov. 1, he added, with a "full media initiative."
Asked how this shopping season will go, Lennox answered: "I always describe myself as cautiously optimistic. In the current economic climate, if you're anything other than cautiously optimistic you're overly optimistic."
Still, he added, he's "quietly confident" in the ability of the campaign to "help reinforce the brand and help with brand engagement.">