Calm bought ad units on election night for ’30 Seconds of Silence’

• The Calm app bought prime ad space on Election Day.
• It bought ad slots on CNN, ABC and Comedy Central to give viewers “30 seconds of silence.”
• “I give this campaign an A+,” said Pauline Brown, a marketing professor at Columbia Business School.

President-elect Donald Trump rode to victory on election night, and dozens of major news alerts went live as swing states were called.

Calma mental fitness company that makes meditation products through its subscription-based app decided to buy some ad space — and give viewers a break from the news.

The company bought 30-second blocks on CNN, ABC and Comedy Central on election night from 5:30 PM to 1:15 AM ET.

The ad included a video with the message: “We bought this ad space to give you 30 seconds of silence. Yes, just silence.”

That was followed by a “you’re welcome” and the Calm logo.

“We wanted to meet people where they were with a real-time moment of calm, delivered by an unexpected 15- to 30-second silent ad break between updates and alerts,” a Calm spokesperson told Business Insider.

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Marketing experts give Calm’s ads an A+

Marketing professors said the ads were well timed and placed.

“What brands, products, services and organizations are trying to do in marketing is meet consumers at the right time and with the right message,” Americus Reed, marketing professor at The Wharton School, told BI. “This Calm initiative meets all three requirements.”

“It’s a very good idea to step in at a time when solving a problem with Calm’s value proposition will resonate with a large portion of the country,” Reed added.

Pauline Brown, a marketing professor at Columbia Business School, said: “Overall, I give this campaign an A+ for its ability to cut through the advertising clutter of the past few days with a fresh, relevant and, dare I say, soothing errand.”

This isn’t Calm’s first foray into election-related ad content.

Calm sponsored the CNN Key Race Alerts in 2020. It also moved push notifications to its users during the June presidential debate between Trump and President Joe Biden.

Halfway through the debate, the app sent a notification that read: “The 45 minute mark. Exhale. Drink some water. Maybe play some rain sounds.”