‘Got Wood?’ The CW Urges Viewers to ‘Catch VD’

The "Catch VD" billboards on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California and Times Square, New York City, New York.

“Catch VD?” I said to myself aloud, observing the glaring red letters on black-as-midnight-background. This was yesterday morning, as I checked out Vampire Diaries news, as I do every day.  Well, of course I’m gonna catch VD – it’s the first new episode since the winter hiatus,” I continued quietly to myself, once I noticed that there was, in fact, another person less than five feet away from me. Since I’m a little bit slow in the morning – as I’m sure we all are – I didn’t get it right away. And then came the revelation as I continued staring at the brand new ads: “Wait – what the hell?”

As an adamant and obsessive viewer of The Vampire Diaries with a seemingly one-track mind, especially in the final days of this hiatus, seeing the simple acronym of “VD” brought to mind my favourite television show. I slowly realized, as the coffee settled in, that this ad could be interpreted (and is wholly meant to be) a completely different way. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the ads yesterday, and to be honest, I still don’t completely know today. What I do know, however, is that I have some semblance of an opinion after a twenty-four hour speculation period.

On the one hand, the ad did exactly what it’s supposed to do – draw a lot of attention to itself. On the other hand, it seems like most of that attention has been either negative or neutral. I do think the ad is slightly humorous. But when I look at the image that’s going to be replacing the original ads, I feel something shift.

Ah, what a great way to “Catch VD” – with Paul Wesley, Nina Dobrev, and Ian Somerhalder. To quote season one Damon, “You know, I really like this whole ménage-à-threesome team thing. It’s got a bit of kink to it.” Me too, Damon – except when it’s underlying association is venereal disease! What does this ad then imply about our beloved actors? I realize that yes, they are in character, and that the ads are not meant to be taken completely seriously, but I can’t help but find it slightly disconcerting.

With that said, however, the CW is definitely no stranger to overly sexual television advertising – I loved the promotional photos for season two of Gossip Girl. The use of negative comments made by the PTA, etc., to emphasize the risqué pictures in the background was genius. They took some potentially troublesome opinions and turned them against the original speakers.

Maybe the CW got the whole “Catch VD” component wrong - after all, we’re talking about diseases here. Personally, I think they should be focussing more on their original season two promotional photos; they have a dash of class and wit, and the pictures are gorgeous. Yes, of course, they’re sexual, too - what advertisement for television isn’t in this day and age.

At the end of all this, I feel like The Vampire Diaries (known as ‘TVD’ in the fandom, by the way, not ‘VD’) deserves a better marketing campaign because it’s such a great show – actors, producers, writers, etc. – they’re all phenomenal. On the other hand, sex sells, and if the CW feels the best way to sell that sex is through VD, then that’s up to them. In any case, I don’t care what kind of advertising they use to try and draw in new viewers – all I know is that I will keep watching until the series is finito.

For those of you wondering, I'm not offended by these ads. Rarely anything offends me. Au contraire, I find them more amusing than anything - this is just what I happen to think in general.

With all this in mind, by the way, the CW released a mid-season preview today.

“Got wood?”

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/01/26/sexy-vampire-diaries-trailer-video-season-tw/

Haha, okay, CW. That’s like a stake reference, right...right?

For further reading, all you have to do is type 'Catch VD' into Google. No, seriously. There are some great articles. I think I'm the last person to post something!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'll be catching a brand new episode of TVD tomorrow night on the CW. See you soon!

Sources
First three photos can be found here: http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/01/25/vampire-diaries-billboard-catch-vd-ex/
Gossip Girl promos found here: http://www.popcrunch.com/x-rated-gossip-girl-season-2-promo-pictures/
The Vampire Diaries promos found here: http://www.fanpop.com/spots/katherine-pierce/images/16412692/title/new-tvd-season-2-poster-both-brothers-want-dead-hq-photo