HBO bites into historical campaign

'Join or Die' slogan teases 'John Adams' mini

By CYNTHIA LITTLETON

"Join or Die."

That ominous-sounding slogan, printed over an image of a fearsome-looking snake cut up into eight parts, has popped up all over New York, L.A., Philadelphia and other big cities as well as in print ads in top magazines over the past month.

No, it's not a militant call to arms by striking writers or an extremist political message for this election year. It's a teaser campaign for HBO's seven-part period mini "John Adams," set to bow in March.

The biopic has a sterling pedigree: It's based on the Pulitzer-winning 2001 bestseller by David McCullough, it hails from Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman's Playtone, and it boasts a cast led by Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney.

HBO's biggest challenge in marketing "John Adams" is to make sure nonhistory buffs don't dismiss it as a dry costume drama about a long-dead president.

Hence the "Join or Die" campaign.

"The idea was to do something that would get noticed and lead the consumer to want to discover more," says HBO senior VP of marketing Courteney Monroe. "What we're trying to get across is that this is not just a quiet historical piece. It's about an unbelievably exciting time in our history."

The "Join or Die" slogan and imagery -- which point the curious to a johnadams08.com micro website at HBO.com -- come from a famous political cartoon done by Benjamin Franklin for his Philadelphia Gazette in 1754, urging the colonies to hang together in fighting the French and Native Americans at the outset of the French and Indian War. The snake was carved into eight sections depicted as a geographic representation of the 13 colonies.

In this rollicking election year, clever marketing and a stellar cast may indeed help HBO to pique casual viewers' interest in the life of a guy who had to follow another George W. into the White House.