Duane Reade launches new ad campaign

NEW YORK Duane Reade, which operates 253 stores throughout the metro New York region, is launching a new advertising campaign to reinforce its positioning as New York City's pre-eminent drug store chain. The campaign, carrying the tagline "Your city. Your drugstore. Duane Reade," marks the first new branding campaign in nearly a decade.

The campaign, developed by New York advertising agency DeVIto/Verdi, will begin appearing this week in thousands of subway cars and buses, as well as on phone kiosks, billboards and urban panels near rail stations.

The ads take a number of New York symbols, events and local references to help communicate the chain?s understanding of what New Yorkers need and when they need it. For example, one ad shows a self-conscious Lady Liberty unwilling to completely raise her lit torch. The copy reads: "Everything a New Yorker needs, like deodorant."

Meanwhile, some ads speak to the challenging and hectic nature of New York living. One ad shows the inside of a subway car with the reminder: "The pole you?re holding has a gazillion germs on it." Another ad instructs shoppers to "Get everything you need in 15 minutes. Or as New Yorkers call it, lunch hour."

The campaign will run throughout the year. In 2010, the company will explore the possibility of expanding the campaign to include other media.