If mob boss Tony Soprano was worried about going to hell, he can rest easy. He’s already there.
Home Box Office’s new ad campaign for the drama’s upcoming fifth season features a dark, Renaissance-inspired image created by famed photographer Annie Lebowitz featuring the show’s stars -- some alive, some dead -- with the message, "Hell hath no fury like the family."
For the campaign, HBO "wanted something that would generate buzz and maybe even fuel talk or speculation of upcoming plot lines," says VP of advertising Courteney Monroe. The image is sure to further rumors that dead characters, like Big Pussy and Ralphie, will reappear this season.
HBO is lavishing an estimated $5 million to $10 million to hype the new season, which starts March 7. The print campaign will be plastered on billboards, buses and print ads. A special ad with a music chip that plays The Sopranos theme song will run in Entertainment Weekly. For real diehards, a special eight-page poster will be inserted in the Feb. 20 edition of The New York Times. There will be plenty of off-channel TV advertising, too, including a spot during the Feb. 29 Oscar telecast.
