Every week brings a myriad of ad campaign and website launches and it's nearly impossible to keep up with them all. If you missed a few, here are some the major launches of the week that was, and the
week that will be.
If you see it going down the road you'll have to take a second look. It's a bright blue Hyundai Tiburon detailed with paw prints, a ferret in a box, and giant lettering
screaming out TheFerretStore.com. It's not just a car; it is part of an advertising campaign launched in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA market region to measure the effectiveness of this new type of
"rolling billboard." The campaign is touting the redesign of TheFerretStore.com.
In response to the rolling blackouts that threaten California, ABSOLUT VODKA continues its proud tradition of
creativity with another "bright" idea, a new outdoor billboard, ABSOLUT ALTERNATIVE. This unique billboard, which features a giant ABSOLUT bottle made up entirely of solar panels, harnesses the power
of the sun during the day and uses it as an "alternative" source of energy to illuminate the two-word headline, "ABSOLUT ALTERNATIVE", at night.
Finally, drinking before noon pays off, as
America's greatest tailgaters will be recognized for their talents this season thanks to Jack Daniel's. The Jack Daniel's Great American Tailgate Judging Crews will travel across the nation throughout
the season, searching for the best tailgaters in pro football. The Jack Daniel's Tailgate Crew will hit the hot tailgate areas around the stadiums, looking for fans that demonstrate great cooking
ability, creativity and team spirit. Winning teams will be recognized with trophies and other prizes. At the end of the season, the winning tailgate teams from the cities whose professional football
teams make it to the championship game in New Orleans will be invited to the Great American Tailgate Party in New Orleans on January 24-26.
Also in sports, POWERade held a kick-off event in New
York City this past Tuesday unveiling its new look. ESPN's Stuart Scott and Rich Eisen served as Masters of Ceremony for the official kick-off of the popular sports drink's bold new look and
vitamin-enhanced formula. Two 300 pound strongmen pulled two POWERade tractor-trailers down 17th Street at Union Square Park, while some of New York's best street ballers hooped it up on a basketball
court and "action sports" experts executed skateboard and BMX bicycle maneuvers in a huge half-pipe. All of the athletes were painted in POWERade-themed designs by professional body painters.
Showtime Networks is relaunching its http://www.SHO.com website with a new look that further emphasizes the network's "No Limits" branding efforts. SHO.com, the online face of Showtime Networks Inc.,
will continue to focus on on-air programming and will continue to facilitate online communities that reflect the diverse interests of SHOWTIME viewers. The site's redesign also adds features such as
personalized daily programming guides, an online screening room, and updates existing features such as tell-a-friend and celebrity chat information.
Still in movies, CinemaNow, Inc., a
video-on-demand distributor of feature films over the Internet, launched its new website, www.cinemanow.com. With this, CinemaNow is also debuting a customized version of Microsoft's Windows Media
Player that features CinemaLater. The book marking function CinemaLater allows users to save their places at any time during a film and resume watching at that exact point whenever they return to the
site. In addition to CinemaLater, the CinemaNow player also provides the ability to change streaming speeds "on the fly" while the film is playing, along with full screen viewing and full VCR
functionality; all of which are designed to provide the best video-on-demand experience available via the Internet.
STYLE.com, the online home of Vogue and W, launched its first-ever national
advertising campaign, which will serve as the centerpiece of the website's marketing efforts for the upcoming fall and holiday seasons. The ads will appear in major national publications such as
Vogue, W, Vanity Fair, Glamour and Allure, and regional publications such as Time Out New York, Hamptons Magazine, Chicago Social and Ocean Drive. After doubling its fashion-hungry audience in less
than a year with a well-balanced mix of editorial and e-commerce, STYLE.com will launch the brand to an even broader consumer audience this month with an integrated marketing campaign that includes
print, outdoor, direct mail and online vehicles. An aggressive e-mail campaign will also incorporate aspects of the advertising to round out an integrated marketing strategy. The aspirational
campaign, titled "Runways Are Everywhere," acknowledges that fashion is a fundamental part of every woman's life and that women find "fashion" runways in everyday situations.
Continuing in
clothing, Steven Madden, Ltd., designer of fashion forward funky footwear, is set to launch its second television ad campaign, which is based on the very successful print ads used by the top shoe
designer. The ad was created for the famed Shoe King, Steve Madden, by the advertising agency, Hampel/Stefanidies. The creative team worked with the already successful print ads used by the shoe
designer and brought them to life creating a commercial spot that represents fun, cool and confident women. The campaign launched August 14, 2001 and will feature a 30-second spot airing on several
cables venues including MTV, VH1 and E! in major markets such as New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami.
The new television ad campaign for American Airlines' web site, AA.com, has been
launched on online financial news provider Marketwatch.com in an effort to expand the carrier's online advertising. American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp., is airing its ads on the Marketwatch.com
site before launching them on its in-flight programming and then perhaps on cable. Viewers are lead into the advertisement by clicking on a large square, which sits beside stories on the
Marketwatch.com site.
uBid, an online auction and e-commerce marketplace, is gearing up to launch its first-ever national advertising campaign. The campaign consists of a 30 second broadcast spot,
which will debut on August 18th during the CBS Sports telecast of the Baltimore Ravens vs. New York Jets NFL pre-season game, as well as an online component that will be featured on CBS
SportsLine.com. The campaign is part of an agreement with SportsLine.com Inc. under which uBid also becomes CBS SportsLine.com's auction partner.
MP3.com, Inc. announced Ad-Free MP3.com
(www.mp3.com/adfree), a service that enables subscribers to enjoy an experience virtually free of commercial solicitations. With Ad-Free MP3.com users can pay a small monthly or annual fee to enjoy
their music and browse the entire MP3.com site (www.mp3.com) without any audio or visual commercial interruptions.
Building upon the "FEEL THE JOY" theme of DIRECTV's current marketing campaigns,
DIRECTV Broadband, Inc., announced the launch of its first integrated advertising campaign including a national television commercial for the DIRECTV DSL service. Coupled with an upcoming launch of a
nationwide retail sales program, the advertising campaign makes an aggressive effort by the high-speed Internet company to establish itself as one of the leading nationwide providers in the industry.
Viewers who can't wait to tune into the latest episode of their favorite home improvement show and dream of breaking out the tool chest themselves can have their fix-it-up dreams come true in the
2001 Home & Garden Television (HGTV) "GREAT FALL FIX-UP" Sweepstakes. This year's promotion has seen a 25% increase in subscribers reached by participating cable systems, bringing the number of
viewers served by cable sponsors up to 50 million compared with last year's 40 million. The Grand Prize Winner will receive $25,000 in cash and a 2002 Subaru Outback - a prize package with an
approximate retail value of $50,000. Local cash prizes of $500 will also be awarded through cable sponsors. The sweepstakes will run from August 20 through September 17, 2001.