LONDON (Brand Republic) 鈥 Newspaper group Trinity Mirror is taking on the showbusiness marketplace with the launch of its news and gossip site, icshowbiz.com.
The Trinity Mirror Digital site, which is aimed primarily at women aged in their teens to 40s, will feature content from the group鈥檚 170 titles including listings, horoscopes, competitions, quizzes and reviews.
The site will compete head-to-head with recently launched Peoplenews.com, the site launched by former Tatler editor Jane Procter.
The company is launching a TV advertising campaign on Christmas Eve and is placing full-page ads and teasers in women鈥檚 consumer magazines and trade titles. David Clarke, managing director of Trinity Mirror Digital, said the adspend was confidential but amounted to 鈥渟erious money鈥.
The 40-second TV ad, created by Grey Advertising, features four spoof showbusiness scenarios and ends with the tagline, 鈥渢here鈥檚 more to showbusiness gossip than meets the eye鈥. In one scene, a celebrity is seen arriving at a film premiere in a glamorous low-cut dress revealing her cleavage. Using computer effects, the viewer is given X-ray vision to see that she has breast implants.
The site is the second significant online initiative after the company鈥檚 launch of ISP ic24.net. The group has committed to spending £150m on its digital strategy over the next three years.
www.icshowbiz.com