• by Adam Bernard , May 25, 2001

Every week brings a myriad of ad campaign and website launches and it's nearly impossible to keep up with them all. If you missed a few, here are some the major launches of the week that was, and the week that will be.

Bridal Guide magazine has launched Bridal Guide Online, a user-friendly, comprehensive guide to all the things one needs to know when planning a wedding. Bridal Guide Online features advice on the full scope of wedding-related topics, from choosing the perfect dress and accessories, to keeping your sanity, to wording your invitations. Bridal Guide Online worked with Event411, a web-based planning company, to offer a suite of exclusive interactive tools to help manage the process of wedding planning.

First comes love, them comes marriage, then comes... Old Navy. Earlier this month, the trendy discount retailer launched Old Navy Mom To Be, a web store for maternity clothes. Its sister chain Gap launched a maternity line online a year ago with little fanfare, and in April it expanded its line of styles, along with its marketing budget. While the company remains tight-lipped on how the line is doing, a Gap spokeswoman says the addition of new items - including $24.50 double-front tanks and $58 stretch capri pants - shows it's going well.

This spring, the blue Val-Pak envelope is promoting the release of 20th Century Fox's Dr. Dolittle 2 by offering sneak previews, prize packs and chances at free trips to the movie capital of the world, Hollywood. The 60 million colorful, specially designed, co-branded Val-Pak envelopes support the instant and register-to-win promotions by offering a mail-in registration for trips to Hollywood and special "Dr. Paks." Each "Dr. Pak" includes a t-shirt, movie picture book and poster.

Fox is set to launch a branded, 24-hour general entertainment channel in Spain on satellite and cable beginning June 1, 2001. The channel, which will carry the name "Fox," marks the company's first such venture in the European pay television market. The channel, which targets young adults ages 18-34, will be available via DTH on Canal Satellite Digital's basic tier as well as major cable operators throughout Spain.

In other hispanic-related news, the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies has launched "FuturaMente," the first-ever major advertising campaign designed to help advance education in America and help "close the achievement gap" between Hispanics and non-Hispanics. FuturaMente marks the largest ever Hispanic business initiative for education. The pro-bono advertising and media campaign is already backed by more than $50 million in media commitments from Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation, People en Espanol, Radio Unica, Telemundo, Univision, Yahoo! en Espanol, and many others. All of these media organizations will air the spots nationally. The FuturaMente campaign includes 7 television spots plus radio, print, online and outdoor messages which will be advertised nationally in Spanish and English.

Schmuck University has launched SchmuckU.com, a humor site that teaches people to be schmucks. However, the site is really intended for good people who want to see how schmucks operate. The site features a free, "PhD in Schmuckology" diploma, which you download, fill in the name of someone who deserves schmuck recognition, and give to that person. Schmuck U offers fifteen courses in various aspects of schmucky behavior, along with a variety of other things.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), and the multi-platinum band *NSYNC, have joined forces to help prevent drug use among America's youth. During the band's upcoming 2001 POPODYSSEY Tour, *NSYNC will unveil a new National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign public service announcement (PSA) that features band members talking about their Anti-Drugs, the people and things that stand between them and drugs. The PSA will be shown at each of *NSYNC's upcoming concerts in 45 U.S. cities beginning May 23rd. *NSYNC will also feature the Media Campaign PSA on the band's website.

In other musician-related news, Universal/Motown, in conjunction with Pileated Pictures, announced that it is releasing a series of interactive online collectible trading cards that feature six members of the rap group Cash Money Millionaires, including Lil' Wayne, Juvenile, Official, Turk, BG and the group's performing producer, Mannie Fresh. The trading cards are part of a promotion from the label; once users collect all six of the cards in the series, they will be able to enter a drawing for $1,000.00 in real money. The cards will be available for download from the label's website, starting on May 29th and will continue through the summer. Two of the cards will be distributed to coincide with record releases: Turk's Young & Thuggin' on June 5 and Juvenile's Project English, which is due late summer.

Heinz Ketchup's edgy, contemporary attitude is uncapped in a new advertising campaign aimed at teens with an appetite for self-expression, wry humor and fun food. Created by Leo Burnett USA, the advertising builds around the theme "Ketchup with Attitude," which Heinz introduced in 1999 to enhance the best-selling brand's relevance and appeal to teens and moms. The Heinz Ketchup commercials will appear on cable television networks that are watched heavily by teens, such as MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and VH1, as well as during syndicated programs such as "Friends." The campaign features four new 30-second spots with the same bold visual style and a cool, almost detached, male voiceover.

With the premiere of ABSOLUT DIRECTOR, you don't need a sound stage, production crew or budget to make a movie -- all you need is a computer and a little creativity. In celebration of the brand's commitment to creative expression, ABSOLUT has launched an innovative website that provides visitors with the resources, tools and technology to create their own digital movie. By allowing visitors to experience the magic of movie making, ABSOLUT DIRECTOR, part of the global website, replaces the computer chair with a director's chair and provides the power to pick the shots, write the script and edit the film on a computer.

Intel Corporation is launching a business-focused ad campaign. The campaign's theme, "Macroprocessing," is a play on the word microprocessing and reflects how the benefits of the microprocessor are being delivered to large-scale enterprise computing. The campaign uses comparisons, such as a jet ski with an ocean liner and a set of headphones with a wall of speakers, to illustrate the difference between personal and enterprise-class computing. The campaign stresses that choosing Intel architecture processors to power enterprise servers is a strategic decision that can benefit a company's long-term success.

ExperTelligence Inc. announced that its subsidiary, ExperClick.com Inc., has launched its website. ExperClick is the first open (one impression at a time) advertising exchange. It operates on the same principles as an automated stock exchange ("ECN"). While the site is currently in operational beta, ExperClick is in the process of adding partners into the exchange for its official launch in July. ExperClick's focus over the next few months is to build the exchange through strategic alliances with advertisers, publishers, and information providers.

NBC and Digital:Convergence Corporation are jointly launching :CueTV, a technology that does for TV what the :CueCat did for printed material. The :CueTV technology is designed to create greater synergy between the TV and Internet. It works by sending a signal, via an audio tone embedded in television programming, to a PC -- which in turn launches a web page related to what is being watched. The :CueTV technology is part of a new NBC promotion offering viewers the chance to win prizes from June 13 to July 11. The cues, which consist of the Digital:Convergence ":c" icon in the corner of the screen accompanied by an audio tone, will first appear on NBC beginning May 24, during a series of on-air spots promoting NBCIQ, a web-based trivia sweepstakes that will test consumers' knowledge of NBC programs. The sweepstakes, which begins on June 13, will use cues during morning, afternoon and prime time promotional spots to direct viewers' computers to a web page featuring the NBCIQ trivia contest. Users do not need to be connected to the Internet when the audio cue appears. To play NBCIQ a user's computer has to be on but not online. Cues are then stored like email, which can be clicked later to launch the page online.