It's a big day for 24. Fox's former flagship drama, revived for event series Live Another Day, is now just 24 days away from its May 5 return. And Fox is capitalizing on its favorite number by choosing today to unleash a new theatrical-style trailer, cast photo and coordinated marketing initiative.
The promos, now rolling out across broadcast, online, on-demand, radio and social networks, are aimed at raising awareness for the newest iteration of the series while shifting the focus to one of its favorite characters: Mary Lynn Rajskub's Chloe O'Brian.
VIDEO: 24: Live Another Day' Gets Dramatic Movie Trailer Treatment
"She really is such a key part of this show. We love Jack Bauer, and he's the mainstay, but Chloe has created such an important persona," says Fox executive vp of marketing Laurel Bernard. "She's easily recognizable, and whenever we do research about the show, people call her out by name."
Chloe, like Kiefer Sutherland's Jack, is revisited in very different circumstances. The former CTU analyst is now an off-the-grid hacker, complete with a Girl With the Dragon Tattoo wardrobe, working for a WikiLeaks-esque website devoted to exposing government secrets.
Fox launched Open Cell Friday morning, a repository for (fictional) paperwork that proves Bauer's innocence. (The new 24 picks up with Bauer on the lam in London, wanted for terrorism.) Promotional spots (like this one) of Rajskub in character and the event series' latest hashtag, #ChloeHack, are now running to point viewers to the website.
"All of our campaigns have pretty big social elements, but they don't have built-in fanbases already," adds Fox senior vp media and on-air planning Emily King. "This is giving us the freedom to not have to teach people who the characters are."
The Chloe hack is not limited to commercials and Twitter accounts. Fox is also getting disruptive and inserting 15-second spots into affiliate morning news programs. The intent is already rallying existing fans -- the 24 tease was among the most-viral moments of the 2014 Super Bowl -- but its also intended to bring on new people.
"We're making sure that people know they can jump into this show without having to experience the history of it all," adds Bernard. "And having fewer episodes is going to really open it up a lot of new people."
