Out to Launch

• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, July 30, 2003

Willie the Leprechaun, the WTA, and Red Lobster - just a few of the campaigns launched this week. Read on for more details.

There's a new Leprechaun in town, but he isn't selling Lucky Charms. dnL (7UP turned upside down) launched its first national broadcast ad campaign, which broke on July 28. "dnL Believe in Green" is the tagline for the campaign, which reinforces dnL's uncommon color, differentiating it from the rest of the carbonated soft drinks on the market. The campaign, targeting 12-to 24-year-olds, features a character known as Willie the Leprechaun, who stands less than two feet tall, walking around town dragging a green wagon filled with iced-down 20-ounce bottles of dnL. He wears a green velour jogging suit and sports a red beard and green bowler hat. In addition to the TV campaign, dnL will be supported with a radio and print campaign utilizing the "dnL Believe in Green" tagline. The new radio spots will begin airing on local-market radio stations in August, and print ads will appear in targeted publications, such as Teen People and Rolling Stone, beginning in September. The campaign was developed by Young & Rubicam, New York.

Red Lobster has adopted a new slogan for the seafood restaurant called "Share the Love." Euro RSCG Tatham Partners in Chicago created the campaign. One TV spot, which supports Red Lobster's "World of Crab" promotion, has been airing all month. During the promotion guests will be able to discover three new flavors of crab - Cajun Roasted, Asian Garlic Steamed and New England Steamed. The branding campaign, which continues indefinitely, uses network and cable spots, along with outdoor advertising in the Top 10 markets. The company has also unveiled a new menu design that is bright, easy to read and features photographs of the unique and diverse people tied to the brand. Red Lobster also redesigned their website. The website shares restaurant recipes and features a "virtual kitchen" where guests can learn cooking techniques, get suggestions for pairing seafood and wine and get recipes that make use of their favorite ingredients.

Ameritrade Holding Corporation launched a campaign that acknowledges the various trading styles and personalities of individual investors, and spotlights their mutual desire for simple pricing and programs tailored to meet their needs. To say the least. The commercials feature a single actor portraying various investors, from a punk rocker and pro golfer, to a Texas oil executive and a valley girl. Most of the characters are annoyed with their broker's complicated pricing structure, and in a comical fashion, look to Ameritrade for relief because of its simple commission schedule. The ads began airing on July 17 and seven spots featuring these types of scenarios will air on various cable networks including CNN, CNNFN, Fox News and MSNBC. Also, print and online advertisements featuring pricing comparisons between Ameritrade and its competitors will appear in Fortune, Smart Money, Kiplinger's and Forbes magazines.

Paper Mate is asking consumers "Where's Yours?" in their integrated marketing campaign launched last week. The campaign features television and print advertising, and in-store marketing and promotion aimed at the attachment pen and mechanical pencil lovers feel for their favorite Paper Mate writing instrument. A series of two television commercials, developed by McCann-Erickson Worldwide, are launching in both 15- and 30-second spots on network and cable programming. Print advertising targeting teens will also run in selected magazines. The first broadcast spot, "Airplane," introduces the Paper Mate X-Tend pen, with its squishy grip to tip feature. The spot opens with a business traveler using the pen in an airplane and then at home, where the romance blossoms. At the spot's crescendo, a flight attendant visits the pen-lover where she asks not so gracefully, "You borrowed my pen?" Apparently, the man "borrowed" the pen from the woman while on the airplane, but "forgot" to return it. The spot ends with Paper Mate's campaign tagline -- "Where's Yours?." The second spot, "Teacher," concentrates on the Paper Mate Clearpoint mechanical pencil.

The WTA Tour has launched a worldwide campaign, which centers around the slogan "Get In Touch With Your Feminine Side." The campaign features Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Venus Williams and Daniela Hantuchova, in a 30-second television commercial and a variety of print ads. The television and print ads, will at first be used primarily by WTA Tour tournaments in approximately 30 countries in the promotion of their events, strengthening the position of women's tennis as the pre-eminent professional women's sport. TBWA/Chiat/Day created the ads. The campaign aims to redefine the idea of femininity, as well as deliver the excitement of women's professional tennis to a broader audience.

On September 14, The New York Times Magazine will publish "Practicing Diversity," a national advertising section that highlights employers' efforts to recruit, retain and promote minority professionals in today's workplace and provides minority job seekers with useful tips and tools to better assess career opportunities. The section, presented by The New York Times Job Market, will reach more than one million African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans across the nation and 60% of U.S. business opinion leaders. To date, confirmed advertisers include Pfizer, Coors, LaSalle, DuPont, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Raytheon and AstraZeneca.

Pennzoil has launched a campaign in an effort to bring engines to life and aims to let consumers understand exactly what an engine wants -- Pennzoil. The campaign launched with a 30-second spot called "Homage" that aired during Saturday Night Live on June 28th and across 22 Networks. Another spot, "Bail out," will debut in September. The tagline of the campaign is "Not just oil, Pennzoil," with TBWAChiatDay in Los Angeles creating the ads. In "Homage," we see an engine jumping out of its car engine bay and heading on a pilgrimage for Pennzoil. It is joined by many other engines along the way. The campaign features the engine as the hero in the company's outdoor, national and local radio spots. The ad will run into next year on national network and cable stations.

Baileys Minis, a 100-ml single serve version of Baileys Original Irish Cream, are being launched this month. It will now offered in handy four-packs suitable for the refrigerator. To support the launch, three 15-second spots, created by J Walter Thompson, debuted this week on MTV, VH1, E!, and TLC. The campaign will run through June 2004.

This week's website launches include:

The Philadelphia Zoo, America's first zoo, has launched a website. Designed by Fusebox, the website allows the zoo to reach a broad audience extending its marketing, educational and fundraising efforts to online visitors. The site's e-commerce capabilities and administrative reporting features will generate significant amount of revenue. Because the Philadelphia Zoo is not just for kids, the site is sophisticated, yet fun "a modern animal habitat" with vibrant colors, bold typography and lots of fun colorful pictures.

Speaking of Philly, UNreal Marketing Solutions has completed reconstruction on the website for Francis Jerome, a beauty boutique located in Center City, Philadelphia. UNreal Marketing provided a facelift complete with a shopping cart and checkout system for easy online ordering and payment. The new shopping cart system allows online shoppers to place beauty items in their virtual shopping carts before finalizing their purchases with a credit card. Previously unavailable items that now find their way into a shopping cart include hair and skin products, makeup and fragrances. Gift certificates are also available to be purchased online.