Psych: Season 7 Campaign

This was a campaign for Universal Channel's program Psych. Season 7 was the first time the show would be airing under the channel's 100% Character rebrand.

To make the show stand out from others, I emphasised the comedy aspect. It's the only comedy on the channel, and we embraced this. There's still some action which you would expect from a Universal Channel show, but the comedy needs to stand out above all else.

The launch spot highlights the nerdy aspect of the program. If you're a film fan, you're in heaven with Psych, it's littered with references and nods to all kinds of pop culture classics. The idea for this promo came as unique way to showcase to shows personality whilst also making it engaging for new viewers. I stuck to mostly widely known references (Harry Potter, Lethal Weapon) to not alienate new fans, but kept a few fan favourites in there too (The Mentalist).

For the second promo, I wanted to highlight the character of Gus. Over the years, many promos had been based around Shawn or Shawn and Gus as a duo, but it was time for Gus to get his moment in the spotlight. Based on the running joke of Shawn constantly giving Gus terrible fake names, it seemed to be a no brainer to pair it with The Ting Tings' hit 'That's Not My Name'. The upbeat nature of the song and the silliness of the spot work hand in hand. This spot also showcases Universal Channel's 100% Character brand well.

And now for something completely different. Psych has always stood out like a sore thumb in the midst of Universal Channel's moody crime dramas, but this was the big difference, Psych: The Musical. Playing as a season finale, this was set up as event television. One of your favourite shows will now be a musical. The message to get across was that this was something new, different and plenty wacky. The teasers were little hints at this, but the promo is a full out ode to a love of musicals.