• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, February 25, 2004

NASCAR gets its motor running. truth® unveils its latest unsettling campaign. UBS AG launches a global campaign. Welcome to highlights of ad campaigns launched recently.

truth, the youth anti-smoking campaign, launched its latest spot in January, entitled Connect truth. The Connect truth campaign uses an orange dot icon to link together various pieces of information and to challenge teens to think about their perceptions of the tobacco industry and its deadly products. Connect truth tells real-life stories of people whose lives have been impacted by tobacco. "Replacement Smokers" opens on a city street with truth teens placing mannequins in a cordoned off area. On each mannequin is the word "Replacement." A teen announces, "Tobacco companies sell a product that kills their customers. But without their customers, they go out of business. So everyday they need to attract what one tobacco exec called, quote, 'replacement smokers.'" An orange string connects from an orange dot to a teen girl sitting on a stoop holding a photo. She says, "My dad died from emphysema from smoking six years ago. I haven't met his replacement yet." This ad, along with "Coroner" and "Survey," are the first three in a series of spots that will launch between now and April. The campaign also includes print and online components. Arnold Worldwide, Boston and Crispin Porter & Bogusky, Miami created the campaign.

UBS AG launched its first global advertising campaign for UBS since the single UBS brand was announced last year. The campaign is structured around the theme "You & Us - Could this be the world's most powerful two person financial firm?" The campaign highlights the confidence UBS' clients have in the financial decisions they make, because the company "takes the time to fully understand their goals, and creates customized financial solutions designed to help them achieve them." The campaign includes print and broadcast ads, events, and exhibitions, which were created by Publicis. TV ads began airing this week on cable and network shows including, "60 Minutes," "The West Wing," "Law & Order," Fox News, CNN, and major golf and tennis tournaments. Print ads run in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Financial Times.

TransitCenter has launched a consumer campaign to support TransitChek, the company's pre-tax employee benefit program for employees who use mass transit. A b2b campaign, which includes a :30 TV spot, will launch in March. The b2c ad launched in The New York Times and mass transit-related outdoor ads debut on Mar. 1. The print ad carries a new tagline, "Quit paying retail for mass transit." Outdoor and print ads show the shelves of a high-end men's clothing store, or a women's shoe store. Amid the folded shirts and high heels is an image of the front of a subway car, indicating that people who don't use TransitChek are paying top dollar for travel, rather than buying it on "sale" through their employers. The Sloan Group created the ads.

The Orange County Register launched a campaign this week that may sound familiar to Willy Wonka lovers. Aimed at fans of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, customers that receive the newspaper exclusively at Orange County's Del Taco restaurants may find actual game tickets inside the Register or the "golden ticket," a grand-prize season ticket package for the Mighty Ducks' 2004-2005 season. The first 100 customers to purchase a breakfast combo meal at any Del Taco restaurant across Orange County during the week will receive a complimentary copy of the Register. Each copy includes one of four collectible Ducks player posters. The poster may include one of 500 pairs of actual game tickets to a future Mighty Ducks' game. The grand prize, a Ducks season ticket package for next season, will also be included in a random copy of the Register. The promotion ends Mar. 19, and also includes radio, online ads and in-store displays.

Konica Minolta has launched a campaign for its DiMAGE Z1 digital still camera. Airing on a combination of broadcast and cable TV, the spot, entitled "Jet," is designed to highlight the 40X MEGA-ZOOM and rapid auto-focus technology that makes the digital camera suited for advanced point-and-shoot digital photography at a price that families can afford. The :30 second spot opens with an image of the camera's zoom lens flying through clouds, simulating the travel of a jet engine. The voice-over says, "Imagine zooming to anywhere in a split second" as the scene zooms to a young boy playing with a model airplane. The voice over then says, "Imagine 40 times MEGA-ZOOM with lightning-fast auto focus," as viewers see the boy's father taking digital photos of the child playing. The scene ends by showing the camera, as the voice over states, "The new DiMAGE Z1. Another digital breakthrough. From Konica Minolta." The R&J Group created the ad.

Boone/Oakley has created the latest campaign launched by NASCAR. The three :30 spots, along with six print ads promote the NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. TV spots began airing nationally Feb. 13, on NBC, Fox, TNT FX and Speed channel. Print ads will run in NASCAR Scene, NASCAR Illustrated, and NASCAR Magazine. Drivers featured in the ads include, David Green, Ron Hornaday, Kyle Busch, Kenny Wallace, Stacy Compton, Robert Pressley Bill Lester, Carl Edwards, and Rick Crawford.

Wexley School for Girls (an interesting agency name), along with Nerve, has created its first campaign for MicroSkills, an IT certification school. The campaign launched late last year and consists of three TV ads, along with radio and print components. The campaign theme revolves around a crane. The crane acts as an analogy for MicroSkills, lifting people out of their "miserable" day job and taking them to a better life. The campaign will run for one year.

In website launches this week:

Eyeblaster, the rich media platform provider, has relaunched its website. Developed with Visual Perspectives Internet, the site was redesigned to better communicate Eyeblaster's breadth of offerings and enable smoother navigation for clients looking for creative examples, publisher acceptance, format specific information and case studies. The home page features the company's promotions, latest news and, for first time visitors, the Eyeblaster Advantage flash introduction, which highlights the company's features and benefits.

The Center for Internet Security has redesigned its website. The new site is easier to navigate, and is part of CIS' ongoing efforts to provide guidance and tools to help users reduce the risk of computer attacks. Computer users and IT auditors can download the latest benchmarks that will guide them in hardening the security configurations of their companies' operating systems, software applications and network devices - free of charge. Keiler & Company designed the website.