Cedar Point coasters make faces look funny

Cedar Fair's Chicago-based ad agency has developed an ad campaign to capitalize on the company's strong suit: roller coasters. And nothing says thrills better than a person's face. The amusement park giant has unveiled the new ad campaign, "Faces," created by the ad firm Cramer-Krasselt. The ad starts with one distorted face after another filling the screen — a result of the G-forces from a given ride. For those into coasters, it's an identifiable image.Cramer-Krasselt, which has worked with Cedar Fair for two years now, generated the concept as a continuation of its "Thrills Connect" campaign.This new segment is a hit with company executives, and apparently with fans of the parks as well. "Everyone instantly identified with the image. It's a memorable idea," said Lee Ann Alexakos, Cedar Fair's vice president of marketing. "It has people talking, like all good advertising should."An ad was created for each of Cedar Fair's 11 parks, featuring roller coasters specific to each park. Cedar Point's ad features the new winged coaster, GateKeeper, along with other iconic coasters in Sandusky.Pat Hanna, of Cramer-Krasselt, was the creative director for the team that developed the ad campaign.While last year's Thrills Connect campaign focused on the "connect" aspect, this round focuses on "thrills.""Matt Ouimet said we are the best coaster park in the country," Hanna said. "Let's do a little bit more with the thrills." Hanna's team traveled to every Cedar Fair park and rode the rides. One thing they quickly noticed: When guests finished riding a coaster, they would immediately head to the booth to look at pictures taken during the ride."We wanted to capture that feeling," Hanna said. Watch the commercial in the player below