‘Russians Are Here’ Ads Have Secret Message: Vote For ‘The Americans’

Greg Evans  writes: Full-page ads in today’s The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post feature a striking image and little text to explain: “The Russians Are Here” says a banner headline, above a Washington Monument shrouded in an old Soviet-style hammer and sickle flag.

Smaller text at the bottom of the page reads: THERUSSIANSAREHERE.ORG. An anti-Trump faction? An alarmist watchdog?

Nah. The ad actually is a well-disguised For Your Consideration ad for FX’s The Americans, and the web address opens with a photo of gun-toting stars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys surrounded by laudatory critics’ quotes. Click on the page’s “FYC” icon and up pops a roster of 11 cast members FX suggests is Emmy-worthy.

Another click takes you to a page full of videos of Season 5 episodes, plus a few promos.

The stealth campaign seems designed to catch newspaper readers unaware, with the colorful – heavy on the red – ad placed not in the papers’ entertainment pages but within the newsy front sections. In The New York Times, for example, the ad … (read more)

Source:  Deadline