Fear of the number 13 is called triskaidekaphobia (tris·kai·dek·a·pho·bi·a). But at WLWT, Hearst’s NBC affiliate in Cincinnati, the number 13 isn’t to be feared but celebrated.
Fear of the number 13 is called triskaidekaphobia (tris·kai·dek·a·pho·bi·a).
Add the number 13 to a Friday and you’ve got the superstition called Friggatriskaidekaphobia (Frig-ga-triskaideka).
But at WLWT, Hearst’s NBC affiliate in Cincinnati, the number 13 isn’t to be feared but celebrated.
A new promo from WLWT combines black cats, cracked mirrors and walking under a ladder into a clever and memorable announcement that the station has been certified by WeatheRate as Cincinnati’s Most Accurate Forecast for the 13th year in a row.
WeatheRate, a national research company, independently certifies only one station in each city, every year as the Most Accurate.
“Our goal was to create a promo that was fun, memorable and would stand out in the market,” says Peter Salkowski, WLWT’s creative services director. “When we were tossing around ideas, playing off of the number 13 and bad luck seemed like a no-brainer. We found stock video of a black cat on a green screen, which really set the whole promo in motion. The concept grew into having each of our meteorologists with a different superstition associated with bad luck. They broke those superstitions to prove our point: their forecasts don’t rely on luck, and viewers shouldn’t have too either.”
Salkowski says the promo took some planning and creative editing by his team.
“After buying a discount mirror (and breaking it a little too well), we decided to use After Effects to fake the look with a second mirror,” he says. “It also took several takes with our chief meteorologist to make sure he was walking and looking in the right spots for us to add the black cat in post-production. It was a fun challenge that seems to have paid off — viewers have been asking our meteorologists how we found a cat that was so well-trained.”
Salkowski says the spot in the first in a campaign and they have ideas brewing for the next phase.
“When you combine our long track record of accurate forecasts, along with the launch of our exclusive WLWT StormTracker Fleet capable of tracking storms in any neighborhood, viewers across Greater Cincinnati can trust WLWT to deliver the earliest, most accurate warnings when severe weather threatens,” says Branden Frantz, WLWT’s GM.
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