Stolichnaya embraces product placement. The U.S. beer industry launches a "Buckle Up America" safety campaign. Court TV and The Sundance Channel go guerrilla. Let's launch!

Avaya, a global provider of business communications software and services, launched a print, online, and direct response campaign using the theme: "Communications at the Heart of Business." The ads demonstrate how, by using Avaya's communications solutions, the company is making people more productive and customers more satisfied. The campaign began with an omnibus print ad in the United States, the U.K., and Australia that directed consumers to a revamped Avaya Web site. Print ads will be unveiled in upcoming weeks, and TV spots debut in early 2005. McCann Erickson handled overall brand and creative work, and R/GA managed the online marketing programs and Web site creation.

Allied Domecq Spirits, North America and Stolichnaya vodka have gone down the road leading to product placement. The Stoli campaign will include product integration and commercials that will first be seen on Spike TV. Created by the New York office of Publicis Worldwide, "Frozen Neighbors," illustrates the effects a totally frozen apartment has on the neighbors of the surrounding flats. Viewers see a man who lives upstairs put his feet on the floor, only to find that it is coated with a layer of ice. Another neighbor discovers that the contents of her bathroom cabinet are frozen. The spot ends with the tag line, "Stoli Genuine Russian Vodka: Best Chilled." The ad will first be seen during Spike TV's reality show "The Club," which follows the pressures and demands of the people behind the scenes of a Las Vegas hot spot. Stoli will also be integrated into a January episode story line, a first for the vodka, having the onscreen characters interact with the brand. Davie-Brown in Los Angeles, brokered the product placement deal.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, members of the U.S. beer industry are launching a "Buckle Up America" safety campaign at the request of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The campaign hopes to ensure that the nation's roads are safer by encouraging drivers to buckle their seat belts. Beer wholesalers across the nation will display brightly colored "Buckle Up" signs and bumpers stickers on their delivery trucks. This is the first time that the beer industry has launched a safety campaign that is not directly related to its products. The campaign begins today and was created in-house.

Anna Nicole Smith is in another ad campaign, but this one's not for TRIMSPA. Smith channels Marilyn Monroe in PETA's "Gentlemen Prefer Fur-Free Blondes" campaign. The ad spotlights a survey from the September issue of Marie Claire, which found that eight out of 10 men find fur a turnoff because it's so cruel. The ad launched on Dec. 7, with the tag line: "If you want to hook up, hang it up." Smith is surrounded by tuxedo-clad men and the song, "Diamonds are a girl's best friend." The ad closes with a still of the commercial and segues into examples of animal cruelty. Subtle. The ad was created in-house.

Rain or shine, I love guerrilla marketing. Crowds of picketers rallied the streets of NYC (in the rain!) to promote "The First Amendment Project," an original series co-produced by Court TV and The Sundance Channel. The series explores issues from 9/11 to the War on Terror and how they have redefined our Constitutional rights. The two networks invited a group of independent filmmakers to present their interpretation on the subject, producing a wide range of results. The guerrilla effort was produced by the michael alan group.

The Advertising Council in conjunction with AABB, America's Blood Centers and the American Red Cross have launched a PSA targeting young adults to raise awareness about the importance and need for blood donors. Created pro bono by Euro RSCG Worldwide New York, the campaign includes TV, radio, outdoor, and online components. "Save the World" features young adults discussing the extreme lengths they have gone to make a difference in the world in an effort to show how donating blood is an easy way to make an impact. Each PSA concludes with the tag line: "Saving the world isn't easy. Saving a life is. And just one pint of blood can save up to three lives."

The office of Champagne, USA has relaunched its campaign from last year to educate American consumers about the importance of location. The "Questionable Origins" campaign is an effort to publicize the uniqueness of the French region famous for the sparkling wine of the same name, along with promoting the protection of wine producing locations. The campaign rotates several bookmark-sized teasers, featuring yellow question marks and questions including, "Gulf Shrimp from Nebraska?" "Washington Apples from Nevada?" and "Valencia Oranges from Maine?" The questions are answered with a full-page ad that explains why "Champagne Is Only From Champagne." Ads are running in The New Yorker, Travel & Leisure, Food & Wine, Wine & Spirits, Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator, and Gourmet through the end of the year. Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter and Associates developed the campaign.

The San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau has launched a non-traditional campaign entitled "Not in L.A." The campaign is an extension of its "Only in San Francisco" branding campaign which launched this summer. Developed by M-line, the campaign is designed to help attract visitors from the Los Angeles area with an array of guerrilla marketing techniques including teaser print and radio ads, mobile billboard displays, and event merchandising in Los Angeles nightclubs. The print campaign kicks off in the winter issues of L.A. Confidential, Los Angeles Magazine, Travel & Leisure, InStyle and Gourmet and newsweeklies including Time, Newsweek, and US News & World Report.

Fusebox has created a multimedia marketing campaign for Business 2.0 magazine. The campaign initially launched in October with a targeted e-mail campaign to more than 2.8 million prospective subscribers offering them a free digital download of the magazine. Print ads are running in select Time Inc. publications, and online ads will run on AOL, Netscape, and CNN properties. In addition, similar creative will appear in airport dioramas in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, New York, and San Francisco.

Cronin and Company has turned back the hands of time for a campaign created for Capital District Physicians' Health Plan (CDPHP). Targeting consumers, employers, and brokers, the campaign positions CDPHP as an evolving health care company of the future by focusing on peoples' pasts. The TV and radio spots are designed to demonstrate how health care should evolve with the customer. One TV spot, "Slam Dancer," opens with a woman in her 30's working in the garden. Amusing ad copy follows: "1981: Gave herself a home perm," "1983: Wore leg warmers with everything," "1985: Went slam dancing every Friday night." The spot concludes with "You've evolved. Shouldn't your health plan?" Two more TV spots "Disco Queen" and "Woodstock" follow the same format. Radio spots feature four people discussing their past exploits from home perms to cutting off the necks on their sweatshirts (I, myself, was a casualty to that fad).

In Web site launches this week:

I am on a major wine kick, having seen "Sideways" last weekend. EVB has launched a Web site for Redwood Creek Wines of California. With a look and feel inspired by vintage travel posters, the site features animated postcards depicting scenes from the great outdoors. The campaign allows visitors to experience: "Wine Notebook," which features a forest scene and an actual notebook with entries from Redwood Creek Winemaker Cal Dennison; "The Fireside," where a fire crackles and visitors can access special recipes, send a fireside gathering invite and download a virtual fireplace screensaver; and "Base Camp," where elk graze near a waterfall and visitors can check out the "Redwood Creek Press" with news, an ad gallery and more.

Looking for New Year's Eve plans in Manhattan? NYCNYE has launched a Web site dedicated to listing events, group organizing, and purchasing tickets. The site features events for both adults and children in multiple categories, including live entertainment, special interest, restaurants, and lounges. Users can register themselves as organizers and invite friends to vote on events based on the preferences of the entire group. Many venues selected by NYCNYE for inclusion are offering special discounts for groups that make use of the service. NYCNYE even launched its own "gorilla" marketing campaign on Nov. 30, where friendly apes made their debut at Rockefeller Center's tree lighting ceremony.

PTMGNEWS.COM has relaunched its Web site. The site provides updated news headlines from more than 5,000 newspapers, broadcast news sources, and other Web sites every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day. Breaking news headlines are updated three times a day from submissions from each news provider. Added to the free site are personal site selections and a search tool.