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Warner Bros. Discovery is pooling its vast resources to make the most of Discovery’s 34th annual Shark Week, with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson serving as the week-long event’s emcee.
The event kicked off on Sunday, July 24, with such new specials as Dawn of the Monster Mako, The Haunting of Shark Tower, Return to Headstone Hell, Great White Battleground and more. Many shows were available to watch ahead of time on streaming service Discovery Plus. While the shows have fun and sometimes ominous titles, the week is specifically dedicated to educating viewers about sharks and their behavior and habitats.
Warner Bros. Discovery is working all of its vast marketing muscle in support of the event and it’s also using the event to support other major WBD products. For example, on Sunday night, fans got a first look at HBO’s upcoming Game of Thrones’ prequel, House of the Dragon, which premieres on HBO and HBO Max on Sunday, August 21. Throughout the week, Warner Bros. Discovery’s family of networks, including TBS, TNT, truTV, Food Network, HGTV, CNN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Animal Planet, Science Channel, ID, OWN, TCM, Discovery Plus and HBO Max will air Shark Week-inspired content or cross-promote the event.
Outside of the WBD family, Shark Week marketing partners include Southwest Airlines, returning for the ninth year, along with MLB Clubs, Pooch Perks, MeUndies, The Paley Center for Media, Georgia Aquarium, Georgetown Cupcake and Ubisoft.
“When loved brands come together, they help amplify each other and break through to fans in new and unique ways. Marketing partnerships are an integral part of the Shark Week experience and allow us to continue to innovate our Shark Week offerings and extend our reach. Whether they are on a flight, getting a sweet treat or doing something to make an impact, these collaborations allow superfans to interact with the brand and celebrate their love of Shark Week.” said Karen Bronzo, chief marketing officer, US Networks, WarnerBros. Discovery, in a statement.
Southwest Airlines includes Shark Week programming with its in-flight entertainment, while several Major League Baseball teams are welcoming the week’s mascot, Chompie, while hosting shark-themed nights through July 31.
Discovery also works with such non-profit partners as Beneath the Waves, a scientific research institute dedicated to protecting sharks and catalyzing pro-ocean policies, and Oceana, an international advocacy organization dedicated to ocean conservation. Both Beneath the Waves and Oceana are recipients of Discovery’s annual text-to-donate campaign. Fans can support these organizations by texting the word “shark” to 707070.
New partners this year include the American Red Cross, Paper Source and fine candy company Sugarfina, which is offering a variety of shark-themed gummies to customers.
Shark Week fans on the West and East coasts can also look to the skies through Saturday, July 30 to see Shark Week-branded blimps as they fly over 25 beach towns from Los Angeles to San Diego – including Comic-Con – to Long Island and the Jersey Shore.
CREDITS (for above spot featuring Dwayne Johnson)
Client: Discovery Marketing
SVP, Marketing: Josh Kovolenko
VP, Creative: Pablo Pulido
VP, Production: Daniel Oleksiuk
VP, Strategy: Megan DeSouza
Sr. Creative Director: Jamie Dugger
Supervising Producer: Peter Lanier
Sr. Production Manager: Javier Montufar
Agency: AV Squad
Director/Creative Director: Peter McKeon
VP, Production: Teresa Antista
VFX Supervisor: Quico Encinias
Director of Photography: Kevin Sarnoff
Editor: Arturo Escobar, Peter Geuther
Post Producer: Ricky Carter
Shoot Producer: Kelsea Davis
Colorist: Dave Hussey
CG Modeling & Additional VFX: Platige
Tags: discovery discovery channel discovery plus shark week warner bros. discovery