Commentary

Out to Launch

Duracell is "trusted everywhere" -- even in the Amazon. If a 150-pound blueberry muffin falls on top of a car, can it still be considered edible? Intel Centrino provides a bevy of choices at your fingertips -- and a host of celebrities on your lap. Let's launch!

Duracell launched a TV spot this week as part of its "Trusted Everywhere" campaign. The spots depicts the work of the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT), an organization that maps out and protects endangered lands. ACT is shown equipping communities in the Amazon rain forest with GPS systems powered by Duracell batteries. The ad then shows how Duracell helps in more everyday situations, such as a teacher using a Duracell-powered laser pointer while educating her class about the rain forest. The 30-second spot will air on network and cable shows. ACME Idea Company created the campaign.

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Luxury brand Judith Leiber uses rapper Nelly, actress Nia Long and Ivana Trump in its global ad campaign. The print ad -- the third in Leiber's "celebutant" campaign -- shows the three boarding a private jet holding Judith Leiber bags.  Nelly sports a limited edition piece of carry-on luggage called the "Cornell Jet Bag." The luggage will be available for a mere $3,250 (yes, I'm being sarcastic) from September through December. The ads are running in October issues of W, In Style, Harpers Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Town & Country, Avenue, Playbill, M Lifestyle, and Paper. kirshenbaum bond san francisco created the campaign.

I've eaten muffins that have felt like they weighed 150 pounds in my stomach - and then along comes this giant muffin campaign... A 3-D billboard was erected above Highway 150 in Mooresville, N.C. promoting the opening of supermarket chain Bloom. The ad shows a giant baking tin filled with six "muffins" and the headline "Jumbo Muffins always in Bloom." Here's where the campaign gets fun. Three days after the billboard went up, a Kia, purchased for $300, was parked in the lot of the gas station below the sign. A "For Sale" sign asking $1000 drew seven inquiries over the next 10 days (a voice mail said the seller was on vacation). Then on September 17, a crane removed one muffin and placed it on top of the Kia, which was then reshaped courtesy of a one-ton wrecking ball. Commuters called news outlets -- and even went to Bloom to report a problem with its outdoor ad. Boone/Oakley, Charlotte, created this ingenious campaign that's an extension of a print, outdoor and direct mail campaign.

This week, Flying Point Media debuted an online sweepstakes campaign for StriVectin-SD, an anti-wrinkle cream. The six-week campaign marks the cream's first online branding effort. The target audience for the sweepstakes is women 25 and older, and the winner receives a three-day, two-night getaway for two at the Ritz-Carlton in St. Thomas. The promotion, running on AOL, MSN, and Yahoo!, along with sites geared toward women, hopes to generate retail and online traffic where Strivectin-SD is sold (Macy's, Bloomingdales, and Sephora) and collect consumer data for future sweepstakes.The $300,000 promotion is running for six weeks.

Intel Corporation bowed its fall ad campaign this week showcasing the digital entertainment benefits of the Intel Centrino mobile technology platform for laptops. The eight-country campaign consists of TV, print, online, retail and outdoor elements. Ads take a humorous approach to how consumers use their laptops as a wireless all-in-one entertainment system. The TV spots feature celebrities sitting on consumers' laps. Each celebrity -- actors John Cleese, Lucy Liu and Tony Leung; singer Seal; pro skateboarder Tony Hawk; and soccer star Michael Owen -- represents different entertainment genres, such as games, movies music, etc. McCann Worldgroup New York created the campaign that will run through the end of the year.

The Aflac Duck has worked with such talent as Gilbert Gottfried and Melania Trump. People have taken notice. The famous fowl was enshrined this week on Madison Avenue's Walk of Fame as one of America's favorite advertising icons. I wonder if this notoriety led to the duck's role in "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events?" The Kaplan Thaler Group created the Aflac campaign in 1999. Other icons inducted alongside the Aflac Duck include the M&M characters, Mr. Peanut, the Pillsbury Doughboy and Tony the Tiger.

TIAA-CREF has launched the second of a five-part series of ads featuring a professor, doctor, nurse, groundskeeper and artist as part of the company's "For the Greater Good" branding campaign. The ads highlights TIAA-CREF's commitment to the financial well-being of those whose work in the academic, medical and cultural fields advances the greater good. Created by Modernista! and launched last month, the campaign features TV, radio, print and online components. Ads are running throughout the fall in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Detroit, Seattle and Houston markets during programs such as Good Morning America, The Today Show, House, West Wing, Cold Case, 20/20, Dateline, and Boston Legal, to name a few.

Colossal Media is painting a billboard on behalf of We Clothing, a Swedish-based clothing company making forays into the U.S. market. Located on Broadway and Houston Street in New York City, the ad will feature actor Jason Lee (now starring in "My Name is Earl") and his "twin," an overweight version of himself, eating the hamburgers that the skinny Lee "twin" is cooking on a grill. The We Clothing store will open on Lafayette Street in SoHo in November. The billboard project begins in October.

This week's Web site launches consist of a fun upcoming movie site and a software company's redesign.

Twist Image has created an entertaining viral marketing campaign for "Niagara Motel," a new movie starring Kevin Pollak and Craig Ferguson. The Flash game, entitled "Staple the S#!% Out of Kevin Pollak," challenges the user to staple a wise-cracking Kevin Pollak for points. I made it to about 200 points. That Pollak is one fast character. The concept arose from a scene from the movie where Pollak is stapled by another character as they fight over a shared love interest. I wonder if this is an office romance? Twist Image was looking to do something viral that was relevant to the story but still cheeky. Mission accomplished.

Blackboard, a software and hardware company, has redesigned its Web site. The new site features a wide array of resources, tools and interactive features for visitors to gather information about the firm. Blackboard services are used by more than 12 million people in the United States and around the world to enhance education through technology. The site is organized into six different categories: Products & Services, In Practice, Communities, Extend Blackboard, Support, and Company.

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