• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, July 14, 2004

Tyco launches a global campaign. ESPN's birthday - sponsored by Toyota. NBC changes the "Anthora" coffee cups for an Olympic promotion. Welcome to highlights of ad campaigns launched recently.

A brewhaha has begun over a partnership between NBC Olympics and Solo Cup Company. The two partnered for a promotion of NBC's 24-hour coverage of the upcoming Athens Olympics. The promotion puts NBC's Athens Olympic logo, dates and 24-hour message on nearly 24 million of Solo's Greek-styled "Anthora" coffee cups in New York and other major U.S. cities. This marks the first time the cup's design has changed. Since 1963, the cup has featured Greek images with the phrase "We Are Happy To Serve You" on both sides. The new promotional design retains the "We Are Happy To Serve You" text on one side while replacing it on the other side with NBC's Athens Olympic logo and the phrase "24 Hours A Day, Aug. 13-29 On The Networks Of NBC."

Aiming to improve customer awareness and revive its corporate image, Tyco launched a global print campaign under the theme line "A vital part of your world," last month. The ads are made up of a background of more than 6,500 words listing a sampling of Tyco's extensive products and services. In one ad, the face of a baby emerges from the text and the words 'pediatric monitoring equipment' - a product of Tyco's Nellcor business - are highlighted. Below the picture is the phrase "You may not know everything we make. But everything we make is vital." The ads will run in major U.S. business newspapers and magazines and in business publications in Europe and Asia, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Fortune, BusinessWeek, The International Herald Tribune and The Far Eastern Economic Review. Similarly themed TV spots and online ads are slated to launch in the fall. The campaign was developed by Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos.

Brickyard VFX lent a creative touch to American Legacy Foundation's latest ads, set in fictitious fun park "Crazyworld." The company added smoke, mirrors, magic tricks and a grainy atmospheric film look to the spots, which use the surroundings of a carnival to convey the reality that smoking still has a grip on society. "Disappeared" and "Dizzy or Dead," began airing last month; additional ads are scheduled for upcoming months. "Disappeared" demonstrates that tobacco products make more than 12,000 mothers disappear every year as it shows a child watching his mother enter a "Dis-Appear-O Box." Despite the magician's best attempts, he cannot bring the mother back. "Dizzy or Dead" discusses a cigarette company that recalled its product not because cigarettes kill 1200 people a day, but because the product could cause temporary discomfort, like wheezing or dizziness.

Bertucci's has launched three, 30-second TV spots, along with a new tagline, "Keepers of the Flame," playing off the company's brick oven cooking. Titled "Scallop," the first spot opens on the hills of Italy and a young Italian woman shopping at an outdoor market for fresh ingredients. "Authentic Italian cooking begins with fresh ingredients," says the voiceover. Next, the woman is in her kitchen cooking a dish made with fresh scallops and the voiceover says, "Each morning Bertucci's chefs start with nothing but the finest and freshest ingredients." Then, the woman puts the dish in her brick oven and a Bertucci's chef pulls the same dish out of the opposite side of the brick oven at a Bertucci's restaurant. "And of course, cooking everything in an open flame brick oven to heighten the natural flavor," says the voiceover. The spot concludes with a shot of the Bertucci's brick oven and a voiceover that says, "Bertucci's. Keepers of the Flame." The campaign will run on Boston, Hartford, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia network affiliates. Cronin|Wallwork Curry designed the campaign.

The Advertising Council and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), launched a PSA campaign to raise awareness about the prevalence of online sexual exploitation and to help parents and teens better protect against online sexual predators. The TV, radio, newspaper, outdoor and online campaign was created pro bono by Merkley + Partners. The campaign is designed to educate parents on steps they can take to prevent the occurrence of sexual solicitations and to report incidents. A second phase of the campaign, which is scheduled to launch next year, will be directed at teenage girls in an effort to empower them to protect themselves against online sexual predators. One TV spot - "Places" - shows how sexual predators target kids in places where parents think they are safest: at home. Another spot-"Monitor" - reveals how easy it is for predators to hide their identity. A third spot - "Acronyms" - clues parents in to the lingo that their kids use online.

In an increased effort to promote its truck segment, Toyota is sponsoring ESPN's 25th Anniversary, ESPN 25. As part of the celebration, Toyota is launching an exclusive campaign titled "Maybe We Should Stick to Being Fans." Four commercials, dedicated to sports, launched July 6th on ESPN, ESPN 2 and ESPN Classic. In addition, radio spots will run on ESPN Radio Networks and online content will run on espn.com and toyota.com. Legendary ESPN announcers Kenny Mayne and Scott VanPelt supplied voiceovers for the campaign, which was created by Saatchi & Saatchi, Los Angeles.

Konica Minolta has launched its first advertising campaign as a merged company. Playing off Konica Minolta's "bizhub" brand name, the campaign's two 30-second television spots launched first, followed by print, direct marketing and online components. The TV spots play off a comedic tone reminiscent of the "Who's On First" skit. In the first spot, entitled "Need That Chart," a boss who thinks he knows it all calls out to a staffer standing at the bizhub, which resembles a typical office copier, and asks for a chart. The man at the bizhub replies that he's emailing it. "From the copier?," asks the boss. "No, from the bizhub," replies the man. The boss asks about another project and the man says he's scanning it. "From the email machine?" asks the boss. "No, from the bizhub," replies the man. The spot cuts to an animated sequence as the voice over says, "Surprising versatility and amazing, affordable color. That's bizhub from Konica Minolta." The two spots will run in rotation on national cable and network TV through October. The ads were created by Cronin and Company.

In website launches this week:

Grand Marnier has launched its first United States Web presence, constructed by ID Society and Shaw Marketing Group. The new site provides a history of Grand Marnier, an overview of its current advertising campaign, product information, recipes and cocktails, as well as advice on preparing for your next "meaningful conversation." Registered users also gain access to interactive polls, Grand Marnier invitations and a free Conversation Circle Creator kit.

BostonChefs.com has launched a companion website. The site showcases Cape Cod's top chefs and their cuisine, and provide visitors and locals alike with a unique guide to the Cape's best dining destinations. Restaurants included on the website include, Regatta of Cotuit in Cotuit, Ocean House in Dennisport, Bayside Betsy's, Chester, Front Street, and Martin House in Provincetown, and Finely JP's in Wellfleet. As summer progress, more restaurants will be added. CapeCodChefs.com will also feature basic restaurant information and chef bios. Visitors can subscribe to e-licious, a semi-monthly email newsletter, which will include reports on interesting happenings on the Cape's dining scene.