Earlier this year, Fox gave us a week with all of its shows giving a shout-out to the long-running animated series, “The Simpsons.”
Now to continue the celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the animated series, Fox will go yellow.
The network will have graphics across its various media outlets incorporate yellow into logos. For the week beginning Jan. 3, graphical elements across Fox properties will turn yellow in honor of Matt Groening’s iconic characters. That means on-air graphics, Fox’s Web sites, social network pages and special on-air promos — all in yellow, along with a range of other stunts (such as local Fox news anchors wearing yellow ties).
The week-long celebration will culminate with a new one-hour documentary on Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie airing on January 10.
“We always knew at the end of the campaign we’d go yellow,” said Fox executive vp marketing Joe Earley, who has led the year-and-half campaign. The effort has included on-air scavenger hunts, contests for viewers to create their own posters and “couch gag,” and even the “Simpsons” receiving their own postage stamps.
It’s rare for a network to put such an extensive marketing effort behind a veteran series. It’s not as if “Simpsons” is even Fox’s highest-rated program on Sundays (that honor goes to “Family Guy). Earley points out that any uniqueness in the campaign is matched by the show’s accomplishments.
” ‘The Simpsons’ is not only a Fox icon, it’s a cultural icon worldwide,” Earley said. “For a show to hit its 20th anniversary in today’s universe is such a feat, and it still has such a resonance in the zeitgeist. The show has viewers who have viewed it for three generations. Besides, it’s such a creative property that it’s fun to come up with ideas for it.”
So by Fox’s measure, it should be getting canceled without notice at any time.