Canadians, as a rule, take their Yellow Pages for granted.

Sure, if they’re looking for a plumber on a holiday weekend, they’ll flip through the thick yellow tome of business listings, and be happy that they threw it into the back of the closet rather than into the recycling bin. But it’s not something they’re going to get excited about.

Except, of course, in British Columbia.

Dominion Directory, publisher of the BC TEL Yellow Pages, launched a major branding campaign in 1996 that got people talking about, of all things, their Yellow Pages. The ‘Think Yellow’ tv and outdoor ads used over-the-top humor to portray the calamitous consequences that can befall those who fail to consult the trusted directory.

Consumers loved it. And the agency that created the campaign, BBDO Vancouver (now Lanyon Phillips BBDO Communications), cleaned up at major awards shows.

Everything, it seems, was going well. So why, last fall, did Dominion Directory decide to move its account to another Vancouver agency, Bryant Fulton & Shee?

According to Vincent Wong, advertising and communications supervisor for Dominion Directory, bbdo’s entertaining ads did an excellent job of waking up consumers to the directory category – one to which they hadn’t given a lot of thought in the past.

But the competition was breathing down Dominion’s neck. And that dictated a change in strategy – from promoting the category at large, to promoting its own brand. There was no sense, after all, in spending ad dollars to promote competing products such as the Western Phone Directory.

In short, thinking yellow wouldn’t cut it – Dominion wanted consumers to think BC TEL Yellow.

Wong says that bbdo, flushed with the success of its campaign, struggled with the idea of moving away from ‘Think Yellow,’ a hot creative concept that still had plenty of potential. Wong says Dominion turned to Bryant Fulton & Shee because the agency seemed to understand their need for a new strategy.

Jim Southcott, executive director of bf&s, says research indicated that consumers did not know to go beyond the basic service offered by the BC TEL Yellow Pages. While people would consult the directory on occasion, they were unaware that there was more to the brand than its pages. Dominion wanted to showcase other facets of the brand, such as its Talking Yellow Pages (which can be accessed by phone) and its Web site.

Positioning the BC TEL Yellow Pages as ‘The Ultimate Source,’ Southcott and his colleagues concluded, would help shift the perception of the brand ‘from a last resort to something that can help [people] navigate life’s complex array of choices.’

Unfortunately, the idea didn’t translate well right away. The first tv spot from bf&s, entitled ‘Girl Trouble,’ featured two hockey players in the midst of a brawl. Instead of hurling insults at one another, they discuss what one can do to treat his girlfriend on her birthday. While the spot, which was launched at the end of last year, served to introduce the multi-faceted character of the brand, it didn’t have the creative punch necessary to attract the attention of consumers, Wong says.

‘Creatively, it didn’t quite hit the mark,’ Southcott concedes.

Part of the problem may have been that bf&s was struggling to top the exceptional work done on the account by bbdo, under then-creative director Jim Noble.

It was a tough act to follow, Southcott says. On one memorable occasion, he and several colleagues found themselves taking a cab to an awards show. When the driver found out that his passengers were in advertising, he began singing the praises of the ‘Think Yellow’ ads. The experience only served to underline the immense challenge that the new agency faced.

While the initial foray into tv may have fallen short, bf&s began to find its own voice in the print work developed for Dominion this past spring.

The first execution was headlined, ‘The official survival kit of Mother’s Day.’ It featured the image of an aluminum case, which held, on the left, a BC TEL Yellow Pages directory, and on the right, a Mother’s Day card. Written beside the directory were a series of suggestions, such as ‘Find the perfect restaurant in our Directory’ and ‘Plan a BC Getaway through the Talking Yellow Pages.’ The greeting card, meanwhile, was labeled simply, ‘Use only as a last resort.’

The print effort, which was supported by radio, ran over a two-week period.

The ‘survival kit’ theme has been used in subsequent print executions tied to other occasions, such as playoff hockey, summer weddings, summer holidays and back-to-school time.

The two newest tv spots have also picked up on the theme.

The first, ‘Baby Steps,’ features a nude baby practising his newfound toddling skills, while a voice-over quietly catalogues the many scenarios in which the child will find the Yellow Pages useful in years to come. (‘During the course of his life, he’ll need to satisfy a craving for deep dish extra-olive pizza 4,562 times.’) The spot ends with the baby landing bum-down on a directory. The tag line: ‘BC Yellow Pages. The official survival kit of life’s little ups and downs.’

The second spot, ‘Obedience,’ shows a man trying unsuccessfully to train his dog to sit. At his wit’s end, the man consults his computer for the Yellow Pages Web site, then dials into the Talking Yellow Pages. A doorbell interrupts his call, however, and he leaves the telephone receiver on the table. When he returns, the dog is sitting, apparently in an effort to divert his owner’s attention from the recorded message on the phone handset – which declares that neutering a dog will make him obedient. ‘The official survival kit for pet owners,’ intones the voice-over.

Southcott says the beauty of the current campaign is its versatility. There can be a survival kit for anything and everything; even current events could be used in the creative, particularly on the quick-turnaround print side.

Not only is the idea sound, he says – it also provides the opportunity to surprise consumers each time out, thus keeping the brand current.

Also in this report:

– McDonald’s fills craving for western creative: Fast-food marketer is among a handful of national advertisers to support regional branding efforts p.28

– The B.C. Lower Mainland: National advertisers still reluctant to invest in west p.28

– Armstrong leverages farm-fresh image: New positioning bids to set the cheese company apart from competitors as it prepares to take the brand national p.29