CareerBuilder to Launch $17 Mil. Campaign

By: Kenneth Hein (Brandweek.com) CareerBuilder.com, the popular online career site, will shift its focus from people who are out of work to those who are gainfully employed, but disgruntled, with a $17 million campaign breaking next month.

Three humorous 30-second TV spots, via Cramer-Kressalt, Chicago, will make their debut Jan. 5 nationwide on network and cable. The spots show employees fantasizing about dramatic ways to escape their current, miserable jobs. Radio, print and outdoor will support.

"This is the next evolution," said Kirk Scott, director-advertising for CareerBuilder, Chicago. "Given the way things in the economy have gone, there is an increased level of dissatisfaction of workers: 85% of people online looking for jobs are currently employed."

One spot shows a white-collar worker who, after suffering through a berating from the boss from hell, begins to eat lunch at his desk. When he gets some ketchup on his lip he decides to feign serious injury. Once inside the ambulance, he hops out and runs off. Another shows a bank teller jumping on the counter telling everyone to get down as if it's a robbery. She then politely tiptoes out the door. The third spot shows a factory worker cramming himself into an oversized stuff bear to escape.

A voiceover explains, "There comes a time in some careers when you just need to move on. Plan your great escape at the only job search engine with over 350 leading newspapers and professional organizations." Tag: "The smarter way to find a better job."

Careerbuilder is owned by Knight Ridder, Tribune and Gannett newspapers. Print running in its parent companies' pubs will use tricky visuals to show unhappy employees. One ad, shot through a water cooler, makes it seem as if the employee barely has his head above water. Text: "Will you know when it's time to move on?"