Wags in the Toronto shop of MacLaren McCann came up with the deliberately provocative Durex Hump Day campaign on behalf of Durex Canada - and while we're still no Australia - it seems sexy humor in advertising gets up to a 25% higher-than average rise out of Canadians.

The online element of the double-entendre-based campaign includes dedicated real estate on Durex's website - a destination being visited on Wednesdays at a rate that's 196% higher than the other weekdays combined. Today, content centres on sharing pick-up lines with your "friends" and invites cyber Casanovas to submit their best come-ons.

The saucy concept also broke through the cyberclutter elsewhere on the interweb. Ad banners have a clickthrough rate that's 15-25% higher than the industry average, with more than 2.4 million awareness impressions generated to date. The campaign will continue through next year after breaking this summer, and includes print ads in commuter newspapers, in-bar posters, and prompted chatter by radio personalities and interaction with listeners.

www.durexhumpday.ca

With four of iTunes Top 20 podcasts in Canada coming from CBC's programming earlier this week, CBC has put out a call for sponsors on all but one of its podcasts. Read More

Toronto's Corus Entertainment will launch a free digital music download service next month, and offer its advertising clients the opportunity to enhance integrated campaigns with its contents. Developed in partnership with Vancouver-based Hip Digital, the initiative will also include distinctive contests and promotional programs.

The online stores will debut with a CMT Canada storefront, and enable audiences to preview, purchase and download music to their PCs and portable MP3 players. Powered by Hip Digital, the storefronts will provide access to a large selection of music, streamed music samples, artist information and music recommendations tailored to each service and its audience, as well as exclusive content from Corus' TV services and radio stations.

www.corusent.com

www.hipdigitalmedia.com

The keynote speaker at Toronto's "Now Playing" seminar on online advertising aims to ease the fears that some media buyers still have about the digital world of options, a world where AOL.ca's own video player has seen a 400% growth in usage over the past three months. Read More

Telelatino is launching Canada's first and only 100% Spanish-language channel next month, just in time for the holiday season. The 24-hour channel will supplement TLN's main service (which serves up Spanish, Italian and English programming blocks), with the new Hispanic showcase of telenovellas, top-rated talk shows, variety and music specials, news and programming for kids.

There are about 909,000 Spanish-speaking people over the age of 12 in Canada today, up from 603,000 in 2000, according to PMB. (See TLN profile at www.mediaincanada.com/articles/mic/20061011/profile.html.)

Global TV's jump from #20 to #1 is impressive. But check out Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed's zoom from #101 to #8. Even that was outdone by Speedy Glass, which leapt from #516 to #2. Check out others topping the radio charts by category and brand in the Toronto market for the week of Oct. 30-Nov. 5, 2006.

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