The Cincinnati Enquirer Launches Campaign Celebrating its History of Being “A Bit Extra Extra”

New ads from Cincinnati agency Curiosity find pride—and Midwestern humor—in nearly two centuries of local coverage and spaghetti chili.

After nearly two centuries of being “a Little Extra Extra,” the Cincinnati Enquirer is launching a new campaign and brand refresh that pokes fun at the newspaper and the hometown rituals that define it.

The new campaign, “A Bit Extra Extra Since 1841,” was created by Cincinnati-based agency Curiosity and launches this month to coincide with Blink Cincinnati, the nation’s largest public art festival.

Most Cincinnatians know The Enquirer. Fewer understand what The Enquirer has become. While many still think of it as a newspaper, The Enquirer is one of the city’s most influential digital news organizations —covering important issues,  sports, food, culture, and community moments that define life in Greater Cincinnati. This campaign reintroduces The Enquirer to the region, demonstrating why it remains an essential part of the future of Greater Cincinnati.

“The team at Curiosity couldn’t hide their excitement for the opportunity to help refresh our brand,” said Beryl Love, executive editor and market leader for The Cincinnati Enquirer. “The ideas started flowing from the first meeting, and it was obvious they not only understood the mission, but also shared our passion to tell the story of a legacy local news provider that not only is surviving, but thriving in the rapidly evolving digital world we find ourselves in today.”

The centerpiece of the campaign is a series of billboards and digital kiosks throughout the city that commemorate the paper’s relationship to its city with a distinctly self-effacing midwestern sense of humor. ‘A politician having a 3-way would not make our front page” says one, referring to the popular Skyline order of spaghetti, chili and cheese. “Covering the who dey, what dey, where dey, when dey, why dey and how dey,” reads another, a reference to the signature Bengals chant. Says another, “Who else would hire a James Beard Award-winning writer to review chili spaghetti?”

The OOH creative doubles as the campaign’s social and digital content. In the coming months, Curiosity and The Enquirer plan to extend the campaign into audio and video with additional social activations. There will also be “A bit extra extra” swag, including fun “both sides of every story” coasters to be distributed in restaurants and pubs throughout the city: one coaster reads “UFO spotted over Cincinnati” on one side and “Cincinnati spotted from UFO” on the other. Another reads “Cinnamon & spaghetti don’t belong on chili” on one side, and “you’re wrong” on the back.

The unique look of the campaign draws on the paper’s own history. In the 1910s, Enquirer headlines were known for the unique way they cascaded down the page — a word or two in oversized sans serif type, followed by serif copy underneath. A 1912 textbook on newspaper production praised the style’s “majesty of diction,” and the paper kept a reputation for adventurous typography through the 1930s and ’40s. The new campaign borrows that vertical, stacked structure for its own headlines.

Curiosity soft-launched a teaser of the campaign on the Bengals season opening game with a full cover wrap of the Sunday paper, with a headline that leaned into the “Who dey” rally cry. They also released the digital versions of the ad on the app and social channels.

The Enquirer published its first issue on April 10, 1841, though its roots trace back to 1828 and a predecessor paper called The Phoenix. It’s now the last surviving daily newspaper in Cincinnati and part of the USA TODAY Co. The paper has won two Pulitzer Prizes, including one in 2018 for a special report on the region’s heroin crisis.

The billboards and kiosks go live this month and will run through the length of Blink Cincinnati before rolling into the campaign’s next phase.

“As a Cincy kid who grew up on the west side with an Enquirer on the table every morning, it was an easy answer when we were asked to work with them. The Enquirer is such a deep part of Cincinnati history, it deserved to get a little of the spotlight itself, but still with the humility and humor that make our city so special. We hope this campaign will remind people of all the ways the Enquirer connects us through its reporting, storytelling and platforms,” said Jeff Warman, Chief Creative Officer and Partner at Curiosity.

Curiosity’s clients include Mike and Ike, Peeps, Underdog, Stop & Shop, Zevo, Native and Blue Buffalo. For more information visit: http://curiosity.fun.

Source: Curiosity

  Advertising, Brand Refresh, Campaign, Cincinnati, Curiosity, Marketing, Ohio, OOH, The Cincinnati Enquirer