• by Adam Bernard , January 17, 2002

It's Thursday again, which can only mean one thing - it's time for ad-related launches! This week we bring you things that fly, places one might fly to, and zipping up one's fly in a new virtual dressing room. It's time to go Out To Launch!

i-traffic, an interactive marketing and advertising company and subsidiary of AGENCY.COM, announced the launch of an interactive campaign for British Airways. The "Fly flat. Fly free." campaign, which launched on the 14th with a first of its kind ad, creatively highlights the sideways perspective as seen by travelers using British Airways' fully flat bed seat. The purpose of the campaign is to drive awareness of British Airways' new promotion, which rewards business travelers with two free tickets anywhere in the world when they join the British Airways Executive Club and fly in business class before April 15, 2002. The DHTML ad unit appears sideways on a user's screen along with a Flash animated creative message. After a few seconds, the ad uprights itself and fades into the web page the user had selected to read, with British Airways banner and skyscraper ads at the top and right of the page. The entire campaign is expected to run on an array of online media properties through April 2002, and includes an HTML email, a forward-to-a-friend viral component and even an audio/visual Internet "commercial" - all incorporating the sideways point of view concept.

From flying planes to flying balls -- TaylorMade is launching a new global advertising campaign, created by Foote, Cone & Belding, consisting of television and print executions demonstrating TaylorMade's role in golf club design and advancements. The campaign features various PGA players and professionals. The tagline, "For Every Player There is a Club," distinguishes the TaylorMade 300 Series metal woods and irons, which feature club configurations to fit all swings. Composed of fourteen television spots and several print ads, the campaign debuts January 19th. Television advertising will kick off with "Anthem," a 60-second brand spot featuring various PGA Tour, European PGA and LPGA players, including Tom Lehman, Ernie Els, Mike Weir, Paul McGinley and Natalie Gulbis. Print ads will launch in February publications.

Moving from golf pros to investment pros, TD Waterhouse Group, Inc. unveiled its latest print and broadcast advertising campaign, which, in keeping with its previous campaigns, features a celebrity investor. The campaign, entitled "You're In Control," features actor Steven Hill, who played the District Attorney on the series Law & Order for 10 years. In the ads, Hill explains the benefits of using various TD Waterhouse services. The campaign, which was developed by New York-based brand advertising agency Cossette Post, targets self-reliant, confident investors and began appearing nationally in print and on television January 7th.

The Advertising Council has joined with the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), Seeking Harmony In Neighborhoods Everyday (SHiNE), and a coalition of celebrities, to launch a series of anti-hate public service announcements. The PSAs include teen and adult-targeted messages designed to encourage all Americans to band together in unity. The Ad Council will distribute the PSAs nationally to more than 3,000 broadcast media outlets. In addition, the adult-targeted ads will air on Continental Airlines flights in March and April and the ads have appeared on television monitors in Circuit City stores across the country. In-flight Media Associates, producers of in-flight video and radio entertainment programming, are also incorporating the PSAs into one of their programs.

In the metro-Detroit area, Mr. Pita launched a new advertising campaign this week. In television and radio spots that began airing January 9th, Mr. Pita promotes its line of low fat UltraLite sandwiches. The new "Get Fresh" themed advertising campaign also touts the chain's fresh food ingredients, catering and delivery services. In addition to the new advertising campaign, Mr. Pita will also launch its website later this month. Visitors to the website can peruse a complete menu and find the nearest Mr. Pita location.

Going overseas, The Weather Channel (TWC) announced the launch of daswetter.com, the German version of weather.com. This localized website is the fourth international site to be launched by the trusted weather provider since July 2001. daswetter.com provides weather information for 6,500 German cities and 7,000 world cities as well as 8,000 German postal codes. After entering a zip code or city name for a desired location, site visitors can receive current conditions, 10-day forecasts, monthly and daily climate statistics and hourly forecasts. Additionally, daswetter.com offers a set of high-quality weather maps especially created for Germany, Europe and world regions.

You should really get dressed before you go out, and Maxim wants to help. Maxim Online and My Virtual Model Inc. have just announced the launch of the My Virtual Model Dressing Room known as MaximWear -- Off the Hook. MaximWear -- Off the Hook enables men to "try on" dozens of outfits online by creating an interactive model based on their body type, features, face and hair. The hope is, once a shopper can see what they look like in a particular garment, they become much more confident about making a purchase decision, whether they are planning to visit the mall or completing an e-commerce transaction. From MaximWear -- Off the Hook, shoppers may use their model to visit a growing number of fashion brands and retailers. Adidas and Nautica are "live" today, Paul Frederick is in development and many other innovators will be joining the MaximWear -- Off the Hook portal. Participating fashion brands and retailers may use MaximWear -- Off the Hook as an interactive advertising experience, or as a transaction-enabled e-commerce interface depending on specific objectives and strategies.

Lastly, The Radio-Mercury Awards has launched its own website, with access to the 2002 Call For Entry form for the chance to one of 12 win cash prizes totaling over $150,000 and awarded in recognition of creative excellence in Radio commercials. The site also features the latest Mercury Awards news, is complimentary, and currently requires no log in. Users may download the 2002 Call For Entry, review the list of 2001 Winners and Finalists as well as all previous Winners; get the latest Mercury news; and contact the Radio-Mercury Awards. In addition, the site offers a creative resources directory of companies that specialize in the production of Radio commercials. Future enhancements to radiomercuryawards.com will include the names of 2002 Judges and Sponsors, competition updates and news flashes as the 2002 Finalists and Winners are announced.

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