In its newest campaign, Re/Max is having a bit of fun while touting its position as a leader in the real estate business.

While awareness of the Re/Max brand is “off the charts,” says Anthony Volpini, the company’s senior director of marketing, many consumers think of the company in the same way they do others in the category, such as Royal LePage or Century21.

“It’s a bit commoditized, so we wanted to stand out and be fresh and encourage people to feel something about the brand,” he says. “We’ve tried to communicate our message in the standard way, but now we want to do it in a way that gets attention, is fun and has some life behind it.”

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That’s what the “Your Unfair Advantage” platform, developed by creative agency Arrivals + Departures, is all about. The first phase of the campaign compares the experience of dealing with a Re/Max agent to having Shakespeare text your crush, or a mermaid compete for your swim team.

Though Re/Max is a leader in the category, it adopted a challenger brand mentality for the campaign, employing an irreverent tone designed to connect on a more emotional level with younger consumers while avoiding the stodgier messaging that the real estate industry is traditionally known for, Volpini says.

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“The objective is to appeal to the first-time buyer and the move-up buyer,” he explains. “That’s an audience that is growing immensely, and there are a lot of new competitors in the space. We just wanted to cement our position as a leader within the group.”

The campaign will also include targeted ad buys during Maple Leafs games, both because Re/Max has always tested well with sports fans and because there’s a natural synergy between the “Unfair Advantage” message and sports themselves, Volpini says.

“It’s like having a pro on your beer league team,” he says, echoing one of the company’s pitches.

In addition to Arrivals + Departures, Re/Max worked with True Media Toronto for media planning and buying.