The Quebec Winter Carnival is using Bonhomme’s famous arrowhead sash as part of its OOH ads to catch the attention of potential visitors in Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City.

Utilizing Zoom Media’s network of frames in fitness clubs, restaurants and bars, the Carnival ads feature a real, colourful sash that draws the eyes of visitors along the wall to a final poster promoting the two-week event.

‘We wanted to do something special, and Bonhomme is so important and easy to recognize, we wanted to do something in a creative way to reach people like this,’ Annick Marchand, communications and marketing director, Quebec Winter Carnival, tells MiC.

Half of the visitors to Carnival arrive from outside the Quebec City area, and, to complement radio and TV ads in Quebec, organizers are running print and OOH ads in Toronto and several northeastern US states, including Boston, Washington and New York City.

The organization has also increased its web presence throughout Quebec-based sites and has a free app available for the iPhone and iPod Touch that allows users to blow a traditional Carnival trumpet (virtually).

It is Carnival’s ninth year working with Zoom. The festival also worked with ParisCom in Quebec City on planning and creative.