Commentary

Out to Launch

Washingtonpost.com launches a trade campaign. Clamato bows Hispanic marketing campaign. RedefeatBush.com launches Anti-Bush spots. Welcome to highlights of ad campaigns launched recently.

The Committee to ReDefeat the President, a federal PAC, is launching two 60-second ads for ReDefeatBush condoms and other merchandise. This marks the committee's first major media buy. Leading this campaign is a two-minute vignette called "Sorry," the first installment of ReDefeatBush.com's ReDefeatBush Theater. It features President Bush and Vice President Cheney admitting that the 9/11 attacks closely followed the breakdown of negotiations with the Taliban in the summer of 2001. Vice President Cheney apologizes for what Joseph Trento, managing director of the National Security News Service and author of The Secret History of the CIA, has called "the greatest foreign policy blunder of the past thirty years." On May 30, ReDefeatBush.com will air its first television ad, a 30-second spot addressing Bush's refusal to eulogize any of the servicemen and women who have lost their lives in Iraq. ReDefeatBush.com launched a second installment of ReDefeatBush Theater this week entitled, "Jeopardy." Following that game show's format, it features President Bush unable to answer questions on the topic of managing advanced industrial capitalism.

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Washingtonpost.com launched a trade advertising campaign that focuses on the site's election year strength. To make clear how well washingtonpost.com attracts an affluent, educated and influential audience, the ads use images of common things that are known for having a strong attraction. For example, the first print ad shows bees swarming to a nest. The campaign will run through the fall. The headline on the first print ad asks "Just how well do we attract the affluent, the educated and the influential during an election year?" Then it answers, "As great as washingtonpost.com is at attracting affluent, educated and influential users every day, we're extraordinary at it during election years. Something to consider if that's your target audience." The ads, designed by AdWorks, Washington, D.C., will run in print and online editions of Adweek, Mediaweek, Brandweek, Advertising Age, MediaPost's MEDIA Magazine and MediaDailyNews (sister publications of Out to Launch), and ClickZ.

Mott's has launched a campaign, targeting the Hispanic Market, for its Clamato tomato cocktail beverage. The TV, billboard and radio campaign launched on April 26, and will air on national Hispanic TV. The campaign focuses on the ability to keep a positive and optimistic attitude and perseverance through adversity. Using humor, the ads make Clamato drinkers the heroes of everyday situations. del Rivero Messianu DDB, Miami FL, created the campaign. The outdoor and radio components will highlight the brand's new tagline "Anima tu Dia" (Liven up you day) and will be running in most of the top 25 US Hispanic Markets.

interTrend Communications is one of four California agencies that teamed up with the American Cancer Society to create a public service campaign promoting National Colorectal Cancer Awareness. Each ad helps to dispel the myths of colorectal disease and encourages colon cancer screenings in the Chinese-American community. The agency's ad shows a toilet sitting atop a rocking chair, along with copy that says, "When life is so unpredictable, prevention is the best medicine." All ads in the campaign feature actual Chinese-American cancer survivors and physicians who share stories and facts about cancer screening. The ads will run, on a rotation schedule, in Chinese-language newspapers throughout the year.

A52 provided visual effects for Team One Advertising's latest ad for Lexus. "Dimples," a :30 spot, is currently airing nationwide. The ad is set in a darkened wind-tunnel test facility; Lexus' sedan is raised into the air and then spun over onto its back. A fan blows a stream of smoke that hugs the vehicle's profile, and a closeup shot reveals the undercarriage's dimpled panels, which were developed by Lexus' engineers to reduce noise and lower wind resistance. "So it's aerodynamic, from every angle," concludes the voiceover.

Lugz Shoe Company, a brand of urban footwear, has partnered with hip-hop artist Bryan "Baby" Williams, akaBirdman, to create a signature athletic shoe called "Birdman." The shoe debuts on May 15, and a full print, radio and television advertising campaign will support the launch of the collection. Sales for Lugz Shoes in 2003 reached $150 million. The "Birdman" shoe will sell for $70. Avrett Free & Ginsberg created the campaign.

Marshall Advertising & Design has recruited hundreds of stars - literally - for its latest Yamaha motorcycle TV spot. The 30-second commercial for the Yamaha Star motorcycle line, entitled "Shining Stars," is the latest installment of the company's multi-million dollar national campaign to support its 2004 line-up. The spot features a group of nine riders, each aboard a different Yamaha Star motorcycle, enjoying an evening cruise under a beautiful, star-lit night.

In website launches this week:

Yahoo! en español has partnered with Fox Pan American Sports (FPAS), to launch a co-branded Spanish-language sports site for FPAS' U.S. Hispanic network, Fox Sports en Español, to offer sports coverage to users in the U.S. and around the world. The site will offer comprehensive Spanish-language sports content, including exclusive streaming video footage of marquee soccer competitions such as the Copa Toyota Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana, that form part of the Yahoo! Sports Soccer Pass service.

To expand the reach of its Operation Graduation campaign (which raises awareness for its high-school dropout prevention program), the Ad Council selected Makinita to create Hallway Hurdles, a teen-targeted online game that challenges and encourages players to race through the hallways of high school toward the ultimate goal of graduation. "True Fact" Jack and "A-plus" Alice are challenged to graduate, and bonuses (including books and calculators) and obstacles (detentions, alcohol, and characters representing drugs and gangs) are featured. The game is featured in both English and Spanish.

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