• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, July 2, 2003

The Food Network "Unwraps." Lexus gets a newly designed website. Office Depot goes back to school... already? Those are just a few of the campaigns launched this week. Read on for more details.

The Food Network has launched an ad campaign entitled "Summer Unwrapped," supporting "Unwrapped," the network's highly rated weekly series. The series uncovers the hidden secrets about culinary cult classics by feeding viewers' endless fascination of all things nostalgic. The eight-week campaign began this week, with ads created by Margeotes|Fertitta +Partners. The "tongue-firmly-in-cheek" television campaign began airing on June 29 and consists of three :30 spots, paying homage to the biopic genre frequently seen on television, with fictional interviewees shedding light on the real lives of food icons. The network will also roll out a radio campaign in 15 markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and Seattle. Homepage ads and banners will run on FoodNetwork.com.

Volkswagen of America has launched their first SUV, the Touareg. Supporting this launch will be a set of unique TV spots, something viewers have come to expect from the company (Remember Da Da Da?). Volkswagen's "teaser spots," which began airing on June 20, use video footage from actual actor auditions, mimicking stereotypes and clichés found in typical SUV advertising. Volkswagen unveiled the branding portion of Touareg's multi-million dollar advertising campaign on June 30. The new ads depict situations such as a GTI getting stranded in high water and a Jetta straddling a huge snow bank. Each spot end with the Touareg easily navigating its way through any potential roadblock in its path. Arnold, Boston created the ads, which will run through August. The ads will run during Alias, Boomtown, The West Wing, Smallville, NYPD Blue, and CSI to name a few.

Sinbad, the title character from an upcoming DreamWorks animated feature film, is the latest family-movie character to appear in a literacy ad from the Newspaper Association of America touting the benefits of reading a newspaper. The ad shows Sinbad reading "The Seven Seas Chronicle," as his dog Spike looks over his shoulder. The ad reads: "Before Sinbad sets sail for the Seven Seas, he spends his mornings reading a newspaper as his buddy Spike sits by his side! Encourage reading - it prepares you for each day!" The ad is available in two-column, quarter, full and half-page sizes, in color or black-and-white, and the launch coincides with the nationwide release of the film today. Eclipse Advertising designed the ad. To date, 163 newspapers throughout the U.S. and Canada have downloaded the ad via NAA's website.

Lee Jeans is debuting two campaigns this summer. Their dungarees are aimed at young men ages 17-24 and the "perfect" pair of jeans will target 22-28-year-old women. The company is going back to its once and future icon, Buddy Lee, for the new campaign. Buddy Lee is headlining Lee's "Men of Action" campaign. The ads will air primarily on cable television, on MTV Networks and Comedy Central and channels with a focus on humor. The Buddy Lee campaign begins this month and will run through November, just in time for the back-to-school crowd. Another ad will break in the middle of the "Men of Action" campaign focusing on young women and their never-ending quest for the perfect pair of jeans. The "One True Fit" campaign will run from September through November, on both network and cable TV. Fallon designed the ads.

Keeping with the back to school launches, Office Depot is launching their own back to school campaign, although summer has just arrived. Office Depot's 2003 Back to School campaign includes direct marketing, in-store materials, public relations and TV and radio spots. The TV and radio ads debut the week of July 7 and will focus on how shopping early at Office Depot helps parents prepare their kids for school. Commercials will also highlight Office Depot's various product and service offerings including: having school supply lists in store and creating an easier shopping experience. The tagline for the ads is: "Because how you prepare your kids for school can have a lot to do with how they actually do in school." The spots were created by BBDO New York. For example, one :30 spot shows a father who is so excited about helping his child succeed in school, that he purchases all of his school supply needs, even before the child is actually born. The ads will air during "Today," "Good Morning America," "Alias," "CSI," and "Everybody Loves Raymond," and on cable networks including Lifetime, A&E, CNN, ESPN and MSNBC.

If you're cheap, then you're Hotwire.com's kind of customer, according to their national TV campaign. The discount travel site launched two 30-second ads, created by DeVito/Verdi. The ads will air nationally on CNN Headline News, Fox News, CNBC, TBS, TNT, FX, AMC and the Weather Channel. They make light of the extreme things people will do to save money, including swiping a sleeping passenger's peanuts on a flight or spontaneously diving into a swimming pool for spare change. These "cheap" behaviors are accompanied by the campaign's slogan, "You're our kind of customer," and Hotwire's tagline: "Fly. Sleep. Drive. Cheap." The TV ads follow Hotwire's "Our Kind of Customer" national radio campaign, which launched April 7 via network radio and selected spot markets.

The Department of Defense has launched a campaign designed to strengthen the personal bond between adult Americans and their military. The campaign links the values learned through military service to success in life. Print ads began running last week and feature veterans from the various military branches. A TV PSA features Valerie Vigoda, a musician and former lieutenant who served in the U.S. Army National Guard. In the spot Vigoda talks about perseverance: "The fact that I've decided to go for my music career and succeed or die trying is I think a function of the confidence I got from being in the military." Other veterans featured in the campaign include: Chad Hennings, a former NFL Dallas Cowboy who served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force and Dr. Jay Grossman, a dentist and former U.S. Navy lieutenant. Mullen created the ads.

The Financial Times has launched their first US advertising campaign in three years, entitled: "Read To Lead". Designed by M&C Saatchi, the ads focus on targeting globally minded senior executives that have an interest in business, geopolitics and the economy. FT's new slogan, "Read To Lead" will appear in black and white ads -- with a shock of pink -- in The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Forbes and Harvard Business Review.

This week's website launches include:

Lexus has redesigned their website to feature more user-friendly navigation and moving images that make their cars come to life online. Using flash animation, the settings for each vehicle feature subtle hints of motion, such as clouds moving across the sky, leaves falling from a tree or mist rising from the base of a waterfall. There is also a "Build Your Lexus" feature that allows users to create their favorite Lexus model by choosing option packages, exterior colors, interior wood trim and colors, and accessories, while calculating its manufacturer suggested retail price. The site was redesigned by Team One Advertising.

AccuWeather.com has revamped its Garden Center section. The center is divided into three different sections: Gardening Precipitation Maps, Gardening Planner Maps, and Gardening How-To's. Sponsors of the center include allergy drug Alavert, Mantis and Spruce Creek, all of which support ads on the Garden Center homepage. The primary advertising sponsor has been Lowe's, which provides a series of gardening tips covering everything from how to start planting a garden, to how to choose the appropriate trees and shrubs for privacy. The Alavert promotion is slated to run for four months, and the Lowe's promotion will last indefinitely.