Koodo is showing consumers a different side of its mascot El Tabador in a new campaign with media by Cossette and creative by Taxi 2.

Targeted at adults aged 18 to 34, the campaign relies primarily on 30-second national TV spots airing on conventional and specialty channels, including Global, City, Comedy and Teletoon, as well as 90-second in-cinema spots.

The TV creative includes a claymation spot in which El Tabador tries to give his home a new look, but ends up getting an unexpected new look himself, while the in-cinema “Man Behind the Mask” spot features former wrestler Bret Hart and sheds light on El Tabador’s back story.

The campaign is supported by TSAs in major urban markets like Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary, digital pre-roll and banner ads on YouTube and search advertising.

Kate Robb, manager of marketing communications, Koodo, tells MiC that back-to-school is one of the key marketing periods for Koodo because many potential customers are going through changes like heading off to university and starting to research their next phones ahead of the deal-heavy Christmas season.

But while this is a key period for the Koodo, she says that the brand’s media spend is shrinking year-over-year.

“We can spend a little less now because from the moment El Tabador bursts through the screen, people recognize it’s a Koodo ad,” she says. “And as recognition and familiarity with our brand has increased, the amount we’ve had to spend on media has decreased.”

Robb says TV and in-cinema are still the primary vehicles for Koodo because they’ve been effective for building brand affinity and recognition to this point. She adds, however, that search and digital are playing a larger role in Koodo campaigns as consumers are doing more research online before investing in new phones.

The campaign will be in market until the middle of October.

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