CBS Creates Water Cooler Buzz for New Comedy

CBS is turning to water coolers for a second time to create hype for a new comedy.

Starting Jan. 16, the network will brand water coolers in some 1,300 Duane Reade and Rite Aid pharmacies in the New York and Los Angeles areas via "Coolertising" to promote a new comedy starring Jenna Elfman. CBS has not yet released the name of the show, though news reports say the show is called Courting Alex. The show is slated to premiere in January. The cooler campaign will run through March.

The ads will be wrapped around five-gallon bottles attached to water coolers. Customers waiting for pharmacy prescriptions can enjoy free water while reading the ad, said Karen Lausten, president of AquaCell Technologies, the parent company of AquaCell Media, which handles the campaign.

CBS is using water cooler ads to boost viewership around new shows

"It's right there in their face," Lausten said of the ad.

In September, the network launched a water cooler campaign around the show Out of Practice. Last spring, Unilever ran a water cooler campaign with AquaCell Media to promote its Dove Cool Moisture products. As a result, Dove sales rose 34%, Lausten said