Trulia Brings Home the Hammer in New Campaign

Advertising Age Player //--> It was kind of inevitable. Trulia is putting the "hammer" in home-buying by tapping MC Hammer for its new campaign. The San Francisco-based real estate firm will debut a 90-second music video starring the 90s rap icon on Thursday. In the "Hammerfy Your Home" spot, which will be pushed out via Trulia's social networks, Hammer, complete with backup singers, sings about the importance of finding the right home. At one point he's dressed as a baby in a crib and mentions a "bun in the oven." While riding a school bus, he sings about finding the best school district. "MC Hammer is this iconic persona, especially for our demographic," explained Paul Levine, president of 11-year-old Trulia, noting that Hammer typically resonates with home buyers in their 30s and 40s. "He brought a lot of his own ideas." Indeed, the singer collaborated on the video's lyrics and worked with Trulia and agencies the Marketing Arm and Jingle Punks. The campaign will include a dedicated microsite where users can create their own music video by answering questions about home amenities and neighborhoods. Mr. Levine expects that the personalized option will encourage more social sharing. The musician of "U Can't Touch This" fame has certainly been touching a fair amount of ad campaigns lately. Trulia marks the third brand in as many months that has featured Hammer in its marketing. He was spotted in a "Juicy Raindance" as part of a campaign for Starburst earlier this spring, and also promoted 3M's Command Strips as an alternative to "hammer"ing a hole in the wall. Mr. Levine noted that the new effort, which will run for six weeks during peak house-buying season, is similar in budget to previous efforts from Trulia, which was bought by Zillow for $2.5 billion last year. In 2014, prior to the acquisition, Trulia ran a "Moment of Trulia" mainstream campaign that cost about $45 million. More recent campaigns have included a haunted house staging during Halloween and a gingerbread man spoof during the holidays.

Trulia Brings Home the Hammer in New Campaign

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