Equal Opportunity Plugger

LAST WEEK I wrote a little thing despairing that CTV didn't go the extra mile to capitalize on the Kiefer Sutherland Corner Gas cameo.

In the comments, there were a few people who wrote in including one of the big Promotions people at CTV.

Well, mama and papa always taught me not to be one sided, so I have to say that I'm pretty tickled to see this current promotion running for Robson Arms:

Win your rent with 'Robson Arms'

It's a renter's or homeowner's dream!

Beginning Monday, May 5, Canadians have the opportunity to win up to $12,000 towards their rent or mortgage payments for one year by virtually stepping into Robson Arms and playing the "Robson Arms Rent Control" game at robsonarms.CTV.ca.

Created exclusively by the CTV Creative Agency, the game serves as a companion to Season 3 of Robson Arms which airs Mondays at 9:30 p.m. ET on CTV.

Additional promotional support for the Season 3 premiere included teams dressed as Robson Arms character Yuri Kukoc (John Cassini) who took to the streets today in Vancouver and Toronto to hand out free DVDs of the season premiere including special Season 3 bonus material.

The giveaway DVDs also included instructions on how to enter the "Robson Arms Rent Control" contest. CTV viewers can also qualify to win an iPod Touch by simply subscribing by June 1 to the Robson Arms newsletter at robsonarms.CTV.ca.

Now that's actually going the extra mile. Not because there's so many DVD's that are gonna get handed out, but because the news that they DID hand out DVD's could make for a start of good buzz.

The contest is kind of a hoot, too, and perfectly matched with the Robson Arms brand. You know, there were grumbles that "sneaking" those Season 3 eps after American Idol kind of almost dumped them without warning...but this is a really positive, forward thinking step showing that CTV is trying to get behind the show.

Launching Monday, May 5 at 9:30 a.m. ET and available online for six weeks (May 5 - June 15), "Robson Arms Rent Control" is a virtual game that has players embark on a quest to help Bobbi (Gabrielle Miller) find her rent money so she doesn't get evicted from Robson Arms.

Players must hunt through the apartments of Robson Arms tenants Nick (Fred Ewanuick), Hal (Zak Santiago), Yuri (John Cassini), Chuck (Dave Foley) and Trixie (Allison Hossack) to locate Bobbi's missing money. In doing so, they can also discover hidden storylines, video and audio clips and delve into the lives of the tenants, all while getting to know them on a "virtual" level.

Players will also need to collect a designated item from each apartment. Once they have travelled through all of the rooms, successfully completed the tasks and collected all of the key items, participants will be eligible to enter the contest and get a chance to win free rent or mortgage payments - up to $12,000 - for a year. Visit robsonarms.CTV.ca to play.

This promotion was conceived by the CTV Creative Agency. That's an in-house sort of promotions/advertising shop that was set up in the wake of the CTV-CHUM merger. (It was also developed with the help of Vancouver online ad shop Noise Digital.)

If this is the taste of the first things to come from this shop, then maybe, just maybe, we might have a light at the end of that chronic Canadian under-promotion tunnel.