Commentary

Out to Launch

Altoids sends singing love telegrams. Visa changes its tagline. EMusic launches a branding campaign. Let's launch!

Before we get to the nitty gritty, a few words on the Super Bowl ads. My favorite ads were Ameriquest's "Don't judge too quickly" (two years in a row!). Check them out here. I also enjoyed the return of MacGyver in a spot for Mastercard, Bud Light's "Secret Fridge," and Hummer's "Little Monster." The Emerald Nuts ad was my least favorite. What's it all mean? Will it make me buy the product? No. Ditto for GoDaddy.com. The company would have been better off coasting on its sea of free publicity.

FedEx launched "Stick" during the first quarter of the Super Bowl, and while it wasn't my favorite ad, I liked it better than last year's effort (two words: Burt Reynolds). "Stick" begins with a caveman shipping a package (OK, a stick) via a pterodactyl, who is quickly devoured by a tyrannosaurus rex. When the caveman reports to his superior that the package didn't make it, his boss asks if he used FedEx. The caveman says "no," and is fired. He further points out that FedEx doesn't exist yet, to which his boss replies, "not my problem." Watch the ad here. BBDO New York created the ad.

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New Line Cinema debuted an ad for "Running Scared" during the Super Bowl. The movie opens February 24, and the ad shows some sort of exchange going down (benjamins were being counted left and right) until all hell breaks loose: gun-toting men in masks take charge, shots are fired and once things subside, one of the men yells, "a cop?" when he finds a badge on a dead man. The ad concludes with "Are you ready for what's next?" Check out the ad here. Ignition Creative created the campaign.

Altoids is promoting its Altoids Mango Sours with a personalized singing love telegram. The campaign is clever, (Love gone sour) but you must have Flash 8 installed to enjoy it. The site begins with official Altoids sideshow barker "Mr. Al Toid" introducing himself and prompting the user to send a singing love telegram to someone special. Visitors choose the recipient's name from a drop-down list, fill in other required fields and write a short note. What the sender previews and what the recipient receives will be one of four versions of the singing love telegram tailored to the sexual orientation of their relationship. The recipient's name seamlessly becomes a part of the lyrics sung in the telegram, one of the best aspects of the campaign. The "Altoids Personalized Singing Love Telegram" is the first song and dance number to debut as part of the "Altoids Entertainment Extravaganza and Spectacle of Curiosities" online campaign developed by WDDG. This campaign, largely inspired by vaudeville, traveling sideshows and Coney Island itself, will formally kick off with the relaunch of Altoids.com in April. To support the telegram aspect of the campaign, PointRoll banners will run on Facebook, Yahoo! Music and MySpace from Feb. 12 - 14.

Visa USA has launched its first new brand campaign in 20 years, entitled "Life Takes Visa." The campaign debuts during the Olympic Winter Games (I can't wait to watch curling!) on Feb. 10 and consists of TV, print, online and outdoor components. "Life Takes," a sixty-second spot, brings viewers through a series of vignettes ranging from getting married in Vegas, being the gofer in an office environment, traveling the country, and cooking with a grandparent, with interspersed copy such as "Life Takes Talent," "Life Takes Wonder," and "Life Takes Exploration." Beginning Feb. 13, six Olympic-themed TV ads featuring actual competition and training footage of athletes Emily Cook, Michelle Kwan, Bode Miller and Johnny Spillane, will launch. One 15-second spot, "Poetry," shows Michelle Kwan footage circa 2002 (good thing she made the team this year) with copy stating "Life Takes Poetry. Life Takes Visa." Following the Olympics, Visa will launch additional spots highlighting specific products and services. Outdoor ads are running in Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. I saw one on my way into work this morning. TBWA/Chiat/Day, Los Angeles created the campaign.

Land Rover North America launched an integrated marketing campaign entitled "Designed for the Extraordinary." The campaign focuses on what differentiates Land Rovers from other luxury vehicles and showcases the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and LR3. Each ad places a different vehicle in a different setting, starting with the Range Rover Sport. The ad shows the Range Rover Sport taking an unexpected detour around rush hour traffic in Tokyo. The campaign also includes print and outdoor components, along with a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the ads that can be found on the company Web site. Y&R created the campaign.

eMusic, an online retailer specializing in independent music, has unveiled a multimillion dollar advertising and branding campaign. Two different 10-, 30- and 60-second spots tout eMusic as the "soul of independent music" and pay homage to independent music through a montage of concert footage, music videos and still frames of bands and fans. The spots will appear on national cable stations including Discovery, TNT, Comedy Central, The History Channel, Spike, FX and Fuse, to name a few. The campaign also features online ads, transit posters, street team promotions and wild postings in several major markets. MMB created the campaign.

Stora Enso, creator of fine papers, packaging boards and wood products, has launched a print campaign promoting its Centura and Productolith coated offset papers. Centura, a premium coated paper, is showcased through a series of pre-printed inserts to illustrate how "Everything Looks Good on Centura." Productolith, known for its dependable press and bindery performance, is featured in a campaign, entitled "Paper You Can Trust" showing the product in various scenarios that emphasize how trustworthy the paper is. Why drive when you can nap and have your paper do the rough work? Both campaigns are running in Graphic Design USA, Communication Arts, Printing Impressions, HOW and Applied Arts, among others. Fort Franklin created both campaigns.

The Advertising Council and the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have expanded the focus of their drunk driving prevention campaign to target "buzzed driving." We've all seen the compelling campaigns under the "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk" tagline. A "buzzed driver" is someone who drinks too much and drives, but doesn't consider himself a drunk driver. "Drum Solo" shows a highly intoxicated wedding guest playing the drums. The ad then shows a couple leaving the wedding, possibly having had just one too many drinks. "House Party" and "Karaoke" follow a similar path and conclude with the tag line "Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving." The TV and radio PSAs target men aged 21 to 34 and were created by Mullen.

This week's Web site launches include competition for eBay and Jessica Simpson singing "These bites are made for poppin.'"

Didn't get enough Jessica Simpson during her Pizza Hut pre-game spot promoting Pizza Hut Cheesy Bites? Fear not, there's an online component for the overexposed one. Atmosphere BBDO created a site that allows visitors to create their own version of Simpson's "These Bites Are Made for Poppin.'" Each cheesy bite represents a diverse musical track (from Bollywood and sitar, to helium and steel drums) and the pepperoni on the pizza takes on sound effects galore. Once you've selected up to 7 different tracks, you can watch Simpson sing along to the remixed track, which can be e-mailed to friends.

eBid, an online auction site in the United Kingdom, has launched a U.S site following an eight-month pilot program that attracted more than 10,000 U.S. buyers and sellers. Site enhancements include new product categories and pricing structures, and a search capability that allows customers to find items in their region or look globally for Irish crafts or English pop music. If shoppers can't find an item, eBid allows buyers to post a free "wanted" ad and list the price they are willing to pay. Sellers then bid to meet the shoppers' requirements with the best price.

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