To create a buzz around Halifax, Bell Aliant has jumped into the harbour again for its latest campaign.

The telco has purchased space on a “floating billboard” that will be pulled by a boat along the Halifax harbour front. The billboard, created by Extreme Group, has a stark, straightforward message. The ad reads simply “We will not be undersold.”

The 14 x 20-foot ad promotes Bell Aliant’s “Value Packages” of bundled services, and will be driven up and down the harbour for eight hours a day.

According to Extreme Group account supervisor Steven Martell, the agency first purchased the floating ad space on Canada Day last year to display simple branding messages for Aliant, which is now Bell Aliant. Martell said the client was pleased with the exposure, so the agency chose to use the floating billboard for this summer’s campaign.

The Bell ads have been turning heads, said Martell. “The floating billboard is rarely used in Halifax, so there was an opportunity to have a presence downtown that would be highly noticed.” The billboard even caught the eye of the Halifax Chronicle Herald which ran a picture of it on the front page of its business section last week.

The floating ads are part of a media blitz including print and banner ads, radio spots, direct mail and traditional billboards. “We’ve got media in every possible place,” said Martell. The city-wide initiative also includes street team activities, branded scooters, and a mobile truck ad, with Cossette handling the buy.