• by Staff Writers , September 1, 2006

These finalists created powerful branding experiences with humor and social savoir-faire. Consumers appeared to respond.

MindShare/AOL

Unilever/Dove Calming Night

AOL: Brent Spitzer, Regional Sales Director; Inna Kern, Regional Sales Development Director; Cathy Boyle, Sales Director; Allison Zweig, Sales Director; Dale Epstein, Sr. Manager Impact Marketing

Unilever: Rob Master, Personal Wash

Brand Manager; Michael Bryce, Associate Brand Manager, Dove PW; Babs Rangaiah, Media Director

Ryan Partnership: Beth Olsen, Senior

Project Manager, Jennifer Miller,

Creative Director; Mary Shaw, Interactive Producer; Tama Ordway, Designer; Marsha Elbourne, Copywriter

MindShare Entertainment: David Lang, Senior Partner, Director of Programming; Greg Manago, Producer

Science + Fiction Holdings: Kevin M. Townsend, Managing Partner

Dove's "Calming Night" campaign broke new ground by encouraging nighttime showering  specifically with Dove's new shower products. The unusual strategy meant the brand had the market all to itself, but it did have to convince consumers they had a reason to buy.

The online results were impressive: The DoveNight site tallied more than 3.4 million visits, 2.3 million unique visits, and almost 730,000 sample requests in only eight weeks, beyond all expectations. The world premiere of the site's "Nighttime Classic" Webisodes garnered almost a million views, which translated into more than 45,000 hours of branded viewing time.

Mindshare

Axe

Jill Langan, Strategic Planning Director; Dave Buklarewicz, Group Planning Director; Nicole Schoenick, Associate Planning Director; Stacie Medley, Planning Supervisor; Tim Smith, Supervisor; Andrew Lorden, Assistant Media Planner; Jeff Cole, Associate Planning Director; Jim Kiszka, Planning Supervisor

Spring break takes intense preparation  you might even need a little boot camp. MindShare prepped men ages 18 to 24 for their spring escapades with libidinous and funny "training" videos. The Axe-branded videos cast spring breakers as "soldiers" and a can of whipped cream as a "weapon," and gave tips for handling all sorts of dangerous situations, such as being trapped in a mob of gyrating girls.

The online content appeared on channels men visit for spring break advice and planning, such as mtv.com, Heavy.com, and Maxim online. Outdoor advertising in Panama City Beach, Fla., a popular spring break destination, reinforced the message. Two-thirds of male students reported having seen the online advertising before leaving campus; unaided Axe ad recall measured 71 percent.

Viewpoint

Toyota

Joseph Davis, Senior Producer; Derek Ramsey, Director, TheStudio by Viewpoint, Los Angeles Production Team

Toyota Interactive Marketing: Gregg Benkendorfer, National Manager of Interactive Marketing; Allen Vaught, Interactive Marketing Manager

TheStudio by Viewpoint's Toyota hybrid Technology Demo uses an engaging Web interface and clean, snappy graphics  including 3-d interactive models, video, and Flash animation  to tout a very hip product: their new hybrid cars.

The site engaged consumers and educated them about the benefits of Toyota's technology. It garnered so much attention that Toyota repositioned it to promote its high-end Lexus brand, too.

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For more information about the Creative Media Awards ceremony go here.