• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, April 27, 2005

VH1 goes guerrilla to "Save the Music." Can't we all just get along? XM launches campaign supporting its coverage of Major League Baseball. Let's launch!

The Stanley Works Company launched an integrated campaign targeting 18- to 34-year-old men in an effort to increase brand awareness for the Stanley brand among younger professionals and do-it-yourselfers ("DIYers"). The campaign consists of two TV spots, six single-page print ads, online ads, and outdoor components. The print campaign uses headlines such as: "Stays rigid to 11 feet"; "No little blue pill needed"; and "Pray you don't come back as a nail" supporting The Stanley Works core product lines including tape measures, hammers, saws, utility knives, and laser-leveling tools. The print campaign will run in Maxim, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated. The first TV commercial in the campaign uses computer imagery to demonstrate the power and efficiency of the Stanley saw, hammer, and tape measures. The second spot shows the speed and ease of changing a blade in the new Stanley utility knife. Both commercials feature the tag line: "Stanley. Make Something Great." In addition, Stanley will launch a grass-roots effort in select markets utilizing wild postings and signage at work sites, men's restrooms, health clubs, and bars. The campaign launched April 25^th on ESPN and was created by Mullen.

I recall something similar to this happening to blown up SpongeBob SquarePants figures that were placed on the roofs of Burger King restaurants. The figures were stolen by SpongeBob fans (or was it a ruse to garner more attention?). Now, it looks like San Francisco Giants fans love their team - to the point of thievery. Bus shelter creative featuring players Barry Bonds, Moises Alou, Jason Schmidt, and J.T. Snow, are being stolen. The creative is funky - each ad makes the players look like GIANTS by having them hold miniature bats, balls, and baseball caps. Roughly 15 ads have been stolen so far, and all ads have been replaced. To curb the robberies, the Giants began a poster giveaway an April 23 game, giving fans entering the stadium J.T. Snow posters. The promotion continued at last night's game. kirshenbaum bond san francisco created the oh-so-popular campaign.

Febreze Scentstories has partnered with ModernMom.com to create a contest to send one lucky Mom on a four-day, three-night trip for two to the Lake Austin Spa Resort in Austin, Texas. Visitors to ModernMom.com between April 1 and May 6 can enter for the chance to win the trip. The month-long promotion also includes banners for Scentstories running on ModernMom.com and a dedicated e-mail to ModernMom.com's 40,000 subscribers.

April 15 was both tax day, and "music emergency day" in New York City. Twenty-two "Emergency Music Support" (EMS) members and a 1968 Cadillac ambulance cruised the city staging "music emergencies" to promote "Save The Music: A Concert To Benefit The VH1 Save The Music Foundation" that aired on April 17. EMS members carried stretchers supporting different musical instruments. Music fanatics sporting t-shirts emblazoned with artists performing in the show yelled through megaphones, "Save the music!" "Rescue the instruments!" Crew members also distributed "music saver" candies advertising the show's date and time throughout Grand Central Terminal, Union Square, and Times Square. Universal Consulting Group handled the promotion.

Mullen wants all baseball fans to get along, regardless of which team they root for (Mets) and created "Truce," to support XM Satellite Radio's coverage of Major League Baseball. The spot portrays rival sports fans with nothing in common - other than a shared interest in following their teams on XM. Cal Ripken - new XM Major League Baseball commentator - makes a cameo, facing off against a hard-core Angels fan. The spot was also made into many individual 30-second spots, tailored to specific rivalries, and airs in stadiums and on local TV broadcasts.

Discovery Network's "Sheer Dallas," airing on TLC, is a docu-soap that gives an inside peek into the lives of the rich, famous, and fabulous Dallas elite. To support the launch, an online campaign was hatched to emphasize the over-sized and over-priced lifestyle of the wealthy Texans. The campaign was created by Agency.com and includes a series of flash banners that display "Texas-sized items," to match the show's highly appropriate tag line: "Everything's bigger in Texas, even the personalities." The ads target women ages 18 to 49, as well as gay males ages 18 to 49. The banner ads will run on iVillage, People, Entertainment Weekly, Daily Candy, E! Online, PlanetOut.com, Advocate, TV Guide, and AOL TV.

Enlighten launched a rich media campaign for window fashions designer Hunter Douglas using the theme "Light can change everything." The campaign targets various lifestyle sites, portals, and media networks in an effort to increase brand awareness and generate online leads via brochure requests and dealer locator searches. Launched in April, the rich media program complements a print campaign that also debuted this month. One rich media unit begins with a mountain landscape seen from inside a home looking out. A Hunter Douglas shade animates over the uncovered window, and copy appears stating, "Even a perfect view isn't perfect... until the light is." The unit concludes with the line, "Light can change everything," and asks the consumer to click to request a brochure. In addition, the program includes paid search ads on Yahoo!, Google, and MSN.

Ambient Planet launched an "After-School" campaign for urban clothing line, Brooklyn Xpress by bringing the product right to its intended audience: young urban trendsetters. The campaign began on April 15; every Friday for six weeks free clothing from Brooklyn Xpress will be handed out to thousands of teenagers at local high schools in Brooklyn, Bronx, Harlem, Staten Island, and Queens. Clothing from denim cargo shorts to embroidered tees will be handed out, making the hip-hop runway a reality for many New York teens.

Middlesex Hospital, a not-for-profit, health network based in Middletown, Conn., launched an extension of its first TV campaign designed to brand the hospital and elevate awareness for its technology and commitment to quality patient care. Developed by Cronin and Company, the campaign includes two 30-second TV spots and a 60-second radio commercial that maintain the tag line: "Healthcare the way you prescribe it." "Dance" and "Stairs" put a human face on the hospital's capabilities by illustrating people in everyday life and revealing their relationships with the hospital. "Dance" opens to ballroom music with a young male dance instructor dancing alone in a dance studio. The doors open and an older woman sweeps in and moves gracefully across the floor of the studio to join the instructor. The two continue dancing together and the voiceover says, "With some of the most advanced treatments available anywhere, the Middlesex Hospital Cancer Center helps you get back in step with the things you love." "Stairs" opens with two brothers at the staircase in their home. The older brother is using a stopwatch to time his younger brother running from upstairs to downstairs. "When you need surgery, it's not just how near you are to the hospital, it's how close you are to getting home," says the voiceover as the camera pans and shows the front door opening and mom and dad returning home from the hospital. TV and radio spots will run throughout the year on Connecticut television network affiliates and regional radio stations.

Personally, I prefer the Jessica and Ashlee Simpson spot. Hilary and Haylie Duff star in the latest Ice Breakers Liquid Ice Mints ad from Hershey Foods Corporation. The spot shows the sisters checking in to a hotel. Both sample Ice Breakers but one believes it's liquid, and the other believes it's ice. Not wanting to start a fight, each sister insists that the other sister is right. The spot ends with a fed-up bellboy screaming, "You're both right." North Castle created the ad.

In Web site launches this week:

Spunlogic launched the SimmonsKidsWeb site for Simmons Bedding Company. The site was designed to promote the latest branding initiative for Simmons' juvenile product lines, BackCare Kids, BackCare Babies, and Baby Mattress. The site features product information for the main product lines as well as baby furniture and baby sleep accessories. The site includes a parent's section featuring helpful information for parents, an area for parents to share information with each other (Mom-to-Mom tips), and interactive tools.

AllGetaways.com, a resource for self-guided travelers searching for local, regional, or destination getaways has launched. Developed by Trails.com, the site provides the self-guided traveler with a custom way to create a weekend or extended vacation itinerary from premium guidebook content. AllGetaways.com allows member's unlimited access to more than 10,000 getaway travel itineraries from hundreds of respected travel guidebooks. Additional features include real-time weather, maps, and traveler reviews. New members receive a free 10-day trial or can sign up at the annual subscription rate of $49.95.