Commentary

Out to Launch

Every week new ad campaigns and websites are launched, and it’s hard to keep up with them all. This week people are talking about the launch of Daimler Chrysler Jeep’s Interactive "Game Zone" on Jeep.com, Virgin Mobile’s "Kick Santa" campaign, and the new website for Corbis images. Find out about these campaigns and others you may have missed in this week’s edition of Out to Launch.

Daimler Chrysler's Chrysler Group is launching the "Game Zone" on Jeep.com with the goal of strengthening brand awareness, increasing customer loyalty and driving more visitors to the site. The strategy for the interactive projects was developed by BBDO, Troy, Mich., the Arnell Group, New York, and Organic, Detroit. Those agencies work with interactive specialty companies to produce the games. Game Zone and the games on it were created in a joint effort with gaming creators, YaYa, Los Angeles. The first of several games to appear on the Game Zone include "Disc Dogger," in which the gamer and a dog play Frisbee for points. In another game, “Jeep Rescue Patrol,” gamers use their choice of Jeep vehicles to drive over rough terrain to rescue stranded sport utility vehicles. A similar premise was used in a Jeep commercial, from BBDO, last year.

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Organic, San Francisco also developed a funny, irreverent game for Virgin Mobile that taps into the holiday season in a rather untraditional way. "Kick Santa in the Balls Until He Coughs Up the Goods" went live in early December and can currently be viewed at www.kicksanta.com The launch was supported by an email drop that went out to Virgin Mobile's opt-in list, as well as to email lists of partners MTV and VH1.

Phoenix Editorial recently completed editorial, visual effects and sound design for "Green Room," a new spot promoting the HP Media Center PC via advertising agency Publicis & Hal Riney, San Francisco. The 60-second spot, which began airing November 25, features a slew of celebrities (some living, some dead, some suspended in time and space) to convey the idea that the HP Media Center PC truly is a multimedia entertainment center where TV, photos, music and video coexist happily together. The spot opens in a fluorescent-lit green room, where a motley crew of models, celebrities, rock bands and former presidents sit patiently to be called onto the stage. Finally, the stage door swings open. Looking up from his clipboard, the producer walks out and calls for the next performer: The Flaming Lips. The scene then transitions to the real world, where a man sits in his living room, remote control in hand, clicking through the menu options on his HP Media Center PC. He finally settles on The Flaming Lips video, which fills the computer screen. The spot closes out with the HP logo and tagline, "Invent."

New York Marriott Marquis this week launched a viral campaign, via Abstract Edge, that encourages people to put their "Name in Lights" in Times Square. The effort lets consumers craft and send a holiday greeting that will seemingly appear in lights along a busy Broadway intersection. Recipients of the e-mail will be linked to a "fake-out" video shot of an LCD billboard with the message. The electronic card then invites them to "Come view a million lights in person by booking a room at the New York Marriott Marquis in the heart of Times Square." The campaign aims to drive traffic to the website, build a list of opt-in subscribers for Marriott offers and increase brand awareness and room bookings. Marriott Marquis is sending out 50,000 emails to alert people about the "Name in Lights" program. Others can access the electronic card on the website.

Terra Lycos is preparing to relaunch its HotBot search engine with a print and online campaign from Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos in Boston. The effort introduces "More search. More engine" as a tagline. The goal is to promote several new features of the portal to an expanded target audience that includes not only tech-savvy young males, but all Internet users. The text-based HotBot campaign trumpets the introduction of the client's Search4 computer platform. One ad reads, "Four search engines. One search box" to convey HotBot's support for the Google, Fast, Inktomi and Teoma systems-all from HotBot.com. Ads also communicate that the revamped HotBot allows users to customize search options by language, region, date and other filters. Online executions break this week, mainly on news and gaming sites. The online buy includes cnn.com, nytimes.com, msnbc.com, ebay.com, gamespy.com and tech-republic.com.

Untitled, a commercial production company, announced it has teamed up once again with advertising agency Campbell-Ewald on "Bison," their third spot for Chevy Silverado. Images denoting the power and strength of the Silverado resonate throughout the campaign, which also includes: "Gawkers" and "Steers." "Bison" opens on an amber sunset in South Dakota set against a placid lake and eagles in mid-flight. Suddenly, the lake ripples from distant vibrations. A stampede of 2500 wild bison storms through the plains. As they stop to graze, Nature returns back to her peaceful self until in charges the Chevy Silverado from the opposite side of the plain. As machine and beast come head to head in a standoff, the Voice Over wraps up the spot with the Silverado tagline, "Like a Rock."

The Coalition for Auto Insurance Competition is launching its first television ad this week as part of its statewide campaign to reform state auto insurance laws. The television ads seek to enlist support from individual New Jerseyans for the Auto Insurance Competition and Choice Act (A-2625), sponsored by Assemblyman Lou Greenwald. The legislation would spur more competition among individual auto insurers and a greater choice of auto insurers doing business in New Jersey. "Drivers deserve a system that promotes competition, encourages companies to sell auto insurance in New Jersey, and creates a stable market that offers more choices for consumers," said John Friedman, chairman of the Coalition for Auto Insurance Competition. The 30-second ad will appear in ten cable television markets. In the ad, viewers are invited to visit the Coalition's website and contact their legislators to support the bill.

Speaking of websites: Image company Corbis will be unveiling a new Personal Use website in the new year. The site will feature a fresh, new look, easier navigation to help you find just the right picture, new pricing, and updated categories of popular themes to help spark any imagination all come along with the new site.

JUXT Interactive unveiled a new home mortgage site for Pardee Home Loans, an affiliate of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Inc. Located at www.pardeehomeloans.com, the site will immediately serve as a powerful home loan resource for Pardee Homes' homebuyers. The completed website allows mortgage shoppers to view updated interest rate sheets, as well as identify the mortgage product best for them by utilizing one of six mortgage calculators. Users can also begin the loan process by accessing a pre-qualification work sheet, and contacting a loan professional.

-- This newsletter is compiled weekly by MediaPost staff writer Lindsey Fadner. Past issues are archived at the MediaPost website. Your comments, questions and submissions are always welcome and appreciated.

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