Commentary

Out to Launch

This week we’ve got new efforts from “Celebrity” Cruises, Suzuki and Chrysler, the latest news in sports campaigns, and an updated website from Rolling Stone. Here are the highlights: 

World Series batters who step up to the plate and knock one out of the park will have the chance to feed America…all of America. Taco Bell Corp., the company that encourages Americans to "Think Outside The Bun," recently announced an "outside the park" offer. During the San Francisco world series games, if any player from the Giants or Anaheim Angels hits a home run and strikes Taco Bell's 15-foot floating "Free Taco Here," every American resident will have the opportunity to feast on a free Crunchy Beef Taco. "What better way to celebrate America's favorite national pastime than with America's favorite taco," said Greg Creed, Chief Marketing Officer, Taco Bell Corp. "Only one team will win the Series, but with our 'Think Outside the Park' offer, everyone can win."…and everyone will have Taco Bell on their mind. The target was strategically placed in McCovey Cove stadium beginning with the World Series game on October 22 and continuing through tonight’s game (or until a successful "splashdown" hit occurs). Following the first successful splashdown hit, the target will be removed.

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In a humorous new campaign for Ameritrade Holding Corporation, a little league baseball coach dreams up great things for his team after one of the players announces “my dad owns Nike.” The coach is thinking new stadium, new equipment, the league championship... When the Dad finally arrives, he is clearly not Nike's "Owner." The caption then reads, "Joe Compton. 0.00015% owner of Nike" Two other 60-second commercials for the corporation include the use of different major brands like Motorola and music company EMI, and feature several of the products and services Ameritrade offers. The campaign debuted on October 23, with double full page ads in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and Investors Business Daily; 60 and 30 second cable spots; and a large and innovative online presence with major portals such as AOL, MSN, Yahoo! and assorted other financial sites.

Hanes will unveil an all-new campaign featuring basketball superstar Michael Jordan on Oct. 28. In the newest Hanes underwear commercial for the Hanes Tagless T-shirt, men go to all extremes to find relief from their irritating T-shirt tags in different dance scenes played against music mimicking their scratching. Jordan provides the ultimate call to action, shaking his head in disbelief, "It's got to be the tag. Go Tagless." The commercial closes with the Hanes tagline, "Hanes comfort. It's a beautiful thing." The campaign also features two new commercials for Hanes Her Way to highlight the women's intimates collections, and new casualwear lines for women and girls. In addition to the television commercials, Hanes unveiled a new billboard in New York's Times Square on Oct. 17. The campaign, developed by The Martin Agency of Richmond, VA, will expand to print advertising and in-store, point of sale displays in 2003.

While Jordan is arguably the best basketball player in history, “Tracy McGrady is arguably the most impactful, popular player in the game today," according to John Kawaja, Director of Marketing for adidas America. This week the company announced the launch of a new global basketball campaign of their own for the new T-MAC 2 shoe. The campaign features McGrady, but focuses on "team" basketball, illustrating that teamwork raises the level of play of the individuals. The ad campaign is the latest work from adidas' relationship with 180/TBWA, the agency partnership between Amsterdam-based 180 and TBWAChiatDay. Two television spots titled "One" and "Acknowledge," are part of an integrated T-MAC 2 campaign, including print advertising and Internet.

New York’s favorite basketball team, the Knickerbockers, have kicked off an aggressive integrated broadcast, print and online advertising campaign to drive both full-season and individual ticket sales. The campaign was created by the New York office of Rapp Collins Worldwide, part of Omnicom Group Inc., which was selected as the Knicks’ advertising agency in July. Operating under the “One Team, One New York” theme, the campaign leverages the fast-paced nature of life in New York to position the Knicks and Madison Square Garden as the ultimate destination for the best in basketball action. Two television spots, running now through early November on the MSG Network, Fox Sports Network and area affiliates, are supported by print ads, direct mail, email and banner ads.

Two hockey teams are also trying to boost ticket sales. The Dallas Stars and the Atlanta Thrashers have signed with Dallas-based Upswing, Inc. to advertise their upcoming hockey seasons on AdverTickets (full-color ads that function as valet parking tickets at Atlanta and Dallas’ trendiest restaurants and entertainment venues). AdverTickets are hand-issued daily and offer advertisers exclusive access to consumers within the omnipresent $40 billion professional parking industry. Atlanta and Dallas are very strong markets for Upswing, with a circulation of over 400,000 tickets per month in each market.

Chrysler hopes to boost its minuscule sales in Germany, Europe's largest car market. A campaign unveiled Tuesday will try to win over Germans who might know that Chrysler merged with their familiar Daimler-Benz in 1998 to form DaimlerChrysler AG, but otherwise have only foggy notions of the U.S. half of the deal. The ads draw on the more stylish cars in Chrysler' history and the glamour of American cultural icons, such as Humphrey Bogart, who drove a Chrysler and appeared in a movie with one. The print ads use, among others, writer Ernest Hemingway, said to have driven a Chrysler New Yorker during his years in Cuba, and actor James Dean, who drove a Chrysler Imperial Roadster in the film "Giant." The campaign, which will start Monday in major German magazines and newspapers, is the latest effort to wring synergies out of the sometimes-rocky 1998 merger with Daimler-Benz. A TV version of the ads is planned for the coming weeks.

Suzuki Motorcycles and ATV's will unveil a new campaign centered around the theme "Get Out of the Way." Designed by Colby & Partners, each spot features a different Suzuki motorcycle or ATV model. In the first 30-second spot to air, viewers watching the Suzuki Intruder Volusia 800 cruiser hear: "If trips to you mean suitcases on rollers...If your dining guide isn't a gas/food/lodging sign...If you don't get beyond two-day growth...Or never used a tanker truck as a vanity mirror...Get Out Of The Way." The print ads, which will break in February enthusiast publications such as Cycle World, mirrors the same copy and attitude with nine different creative executions. Both the television and print ad prominently feature the Suzuki motorcycle and are accompanied by key product information. Two spots have been produced with two more slated to be shot before the end of the year. The campaign will run throughout the 2003 model year.

Celebrity Cruises has launched a major new consumer ad campaign created by Havas’Arnold Worldwide. The campaign, tagged "a true departure," communicates the experience of a Celebrity vacation via print and television ads which showcase the line's guests as "celebrities." The television campaign, which will begin running on cable, includes information on a Celebrity sweepstakes, along with a toll-free number and Celebrity's web address. The winner of the sweepstakes will be awarded a Celebrity cruise once a year for 10 years. Digitas, Celebrity's loyalty marketing partner, is handling one-to-one marketing for this aspect of the campaign, in addition to media planning, the trade component and the sweepstakes. Arnold enlisted renowned Hollywood photographer Mark Seliger, famous for his 15-year tenure as photographer for Rolling Stone magazine, for the campaign, to make "real" people appear famous. The print campaign will break in November publications.

Speaking of RollingStone, the Internet site for music news and popular culture, has unveiled a fresh new look. To celebrate this event, RollingStone.com is hosting the exclusive world premiere of multimedia material from Stripped, the forthcoming album from Christina Aguilera. Due October 29 from RCA Records, Stripped is 21-year-old Aguilera's follow-up to her 1999 self-titled debut smash, which launched a career that has already sold over 12 million albums worldwide and won three Grammys. RollingStone.com’s updated look integrates many of the new features and visual elements of Rolling Stone magazine’s recent redesign. In addition to improvements to make the site easier to read and navigate, RollingStone.com has greatly expanded its collection of celebrity photos, and movie, CD and DVD reviews. RollingStone.com will also be incorporating high-quality content from its GetMusic.com sister site, including a vast library of popular music videos. Advertisers will have greater opportunities to be tightly integrated with the new RollingStone.com through higher-profile content sponsorships.

-- This newsletter is compiled weekly by MediaPost staff writer Lindsey Fadner. Past issues are archived at the MediaPost website. Your comments, questions and submissions are always welcome and appreciated.

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