• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, November 28, 2010

After a nearly quarter-century hiatus, Bacardi's Martini Asti is back on U.S. television for this holiday season.

The brand -- the world's top-selling imported sparkling wine, according to International Wine and Spirits Record -- is targeting women 25 to 30 through a campaign rolling out this month on national network and cable, including ABC, CW, E!, Style, Bravo, Oxygen, TLC, The Travel Channel and The Food Network.

The commercial is airing on programs including "Grey's Anatomy," "America's Next Top Model," "Cougar Town," "Real Housewives," "Top Chef" and the new CW series "Nikita."

The new "Let Go" spot for the Italian wine, filmed in Rome, depicts a stylish young Italian woman holding a large bunch of golden balloons, walking among the city's traffic and cafés and being rowed across a scenic park lake on her way to a party at a modern terrazzo. On arrival, she presents each guest with one of the balloons, as a bottle of Martini Asti is uncorked. As the balloons are released and drift skyward, they transform into wine bubbles.

The creative is from David & Goliath, named Martini's U.S. strategic and creative agency of record in June and known for its rapping hamsters campaigns for Kia. The agency is also handling Martini digital, print and outdoor efforts.

The wine still bears the Martini & Rossi name on its bottles, but Bacardi USA now uses the shortened "Martini" branding for the Asti and its sister vermouth.

Memorable past television campaigns included an early '80s spot in which a man repeatedly corrects his female companion's comments about the "delicious Champagne" with the phrase "it's delicious Martini & Rossi Asti Spumante ... Martini & Rossi Spumante." A mid-'80s commercial featured actress Nicollette Sheridan (in her pre-"Desperate Housewives," "Knot's Landing" days), and '70s efforts featured the then-married couple actress Angie Dickinson and composer Burt Bacharach.