'The Middle' Uses Coupons & The Mail to Promote Season 2

[Brian Damage]

Shows like "Lost," "Fringe" and "Heroes" may have targeted the Comic-Con contingent to promote their new seasons in the past, but ABC comedy "The Middle" is going right to coupon clippers.
The sitcom's second season is being promoted through Valpak, the direct-mail giant the owned by Cox Media Group's Cox Target Media, which sends out its blue envelopes stuffed with stacks of discounts for local retailers each week to 40 million bargain seekers.

In a clever riff on the more typical ads, "The Middle" insert shows star Patricia Heaton and her TV family with the sales pitch "Just like your family ... we like free stuff."

"The Middle" promo is the latest that Valpak is sending out for networks after recently announcing a deal to hype "The Martha Stewart Show's" move to Hallmark Channel on Sept. 13. ABC's coupon for "The Middle" "never expires."

Until the ratings start to, that is.




Read more: http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...#ixzz0ynQJMHiZ
Visit Variety.com to become a Variety subscriber.