"A Nasty Piece of Work" Never Looked This Good

I work for a company that does research about marketing and advertising, so I read a lot of newsletters and blogs about media and commercials and what not. Imagine my delight then, when a couple weeks back all of these outlets started buzzing about the new marketing campaign for the CW's Gossip Girl, which I happen to think is one of the best guilty pleasures on television (and if you tell anyone that I watch Gossip Girl, I will have to kill you).

The campaign, in my opinion is brilliant: it takes the criticisms leveled at the show by such bastions of conservatism as the Parents Television Council and pairs them with some fairly suggestive pictures of characters engaging in activities that certainly are "every parent's nightmare," such as this one:



The campaign is basically a giant middle finger at critics, and I have to give props to the CW for being so blatantly ballsy. Its risky, and it certainly has gotten people talking about the show again. It remains to be seen if this newfound buzz will translate into a boost in the ratings, given that there weren't very many people watching the show in the first place. I think the new Monday timeslot will help, as will premiering weeks before most other shows do. Gossip Girl returns Monday, September 1. Look for my thoughts on the show's return over the next few weeks, and to watch a couple of the new promo spots, click here and here, but just don't let anyone catch you.