Rain-X to promote blades in TV blitz

HOUSTON (Dec. 22, 2015) — The marketers of Rain-X water-repelling coating are planning a sports-heavy TV advertising campaign running through February keying on safety.

The campaign will promote the new range of Rain-X Latitude Water Repellency and Rain-X Quantum wiper blades that apply the Rain-X coating to a car's windshield throughout the life of the blade.

The new ad focuses on the safety aspects of clear vision that the Latitude and Quantum wipers provide by applying a Rain-X coating to the windshield, according to ITW Global Brands, the marketer of the Rain-X product line.

The new marketing effort will run on national network and cable TV on highly rated sports and scripted programming, such as ESPN; college bowl games; digital weather-triggered advertising on Weather.com and Accuweather.com; and online pre-roll advertising on video sites such as Hulu.com, according to ITW.

During several college bowl games, ITW has arranged for in-game broadcast “integrations” in the guise of Rain-X “Preparing For” segments.

During these segments, “on-air talent discusses what teams have done to prepare for the game,” said Harley Johnson, director of marketing. “This is a great fit with our brand's core belief in being prepared for whatever comes your way.”

This sponsorship will run through the most popular, final weeks of the college football season. Viewership last year during this time was estimated at more than 200 million people, Rain-X said.

As for digital platforms, Rain-X will target sites like Hulu.com to reach a younger consumer set who may not watch traditional TV.