Takebackthetour.com: Screw The Dopers

Blaise Zerega loves his Orbea. The shocking news today that Saunier Duval has withdrawn from the Tour de France after Riccardo Ricco, its top rider and winner of two stages thus far, had tested positive for EPO, gives new urgency to a compelling and innovative marketing campaign called Take Back the Tour.

Let's face it, doping is a major problem for my favorite sport and leading up to this year's Tour, it was obvious that something dramatic was needed to rekindle people's passion for it. The good folks at the Versus channel (which broadcasts the Tour in the US) turned to The Concept Farm, a NY-based ad-production-entertainment firm.

The result is a sneak peek into the future of advertising and marketing. Concept Farm's impressive campaign integrates TV, Print, and Web, making full use of interactivity and community. This means a Rants blog, Flickr photos, YouTube videos, and Facebook. Registered participation is not huge, but I wouldn't count that against the campaign.  It's bold, visonary, and it will spawn a raft of imitators.

Best of all is its message: Screw the dopers...They ripped the soul out of this race...It belongs to us... We're masochists. We're believers. And it's our time. Take back the tour.