• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, April 9, 2003

Absolut launches interactive Flash ads. Osteo Bi-Flex debuts an interesting spokesperson. Three companies launch Hispanic centered campaigns. Those are just a few of the campaigns launched this week. Read on for more details.

The Boston Globe has launched an integrated advertising campaign which positions the newspaper as an essential part of an involved, active life in the Boston and greater New England marketplaces. The campaign's tagline, "Your world, unfolding daily," will emphasize the depth of national, international, lifestyle, and sports reporting that distinguishes The Globe from other media. A :30 television spot debuted during the Academy Awards last month, and a 16-page insert ran in The Boston Globe. There will also be a billboard on the Massachusetts Turnpike, continued TV spots, and ongoing event marketing activities. The TV spots feature an enthusiastic newspaper "hawker" who engages a sidewalk crowd with his appeals to stay informed by reading The Globe everyday. Print and outdoor ads feature a sequence of photos - some of which have previously appeared in The Globe - along with insightful captions that bring the new tagline and positioning to life. The ads were created by Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos.

The Advertising Council has partnered with the Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities (CCLD), to launch a new public service advertisement to educate parents of children who are struggling in school about the importance of early identification and intervention of learning disabilities. Created by Grey Worldwide, the campaign, which includes television, radio and Internet advertising, uses powerful images of children and parents talking about their struggles. The PSAs direct audiences to call 1-888-478-MIND for a free information booklet on ways to help a child. The PSAs began airing nationwide in late March.

The AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour has launched national print advertisements, banners and posters for their upcoming 2003 season. The Content Project (TCP) designed the ads which will run nationally on NBC, and on cable networks, coinciding with the networks airing several of the AVP tournament events. Print ads will run nationally in Sports Illustrated magazine beginning in August and in regional publications to support local AVP tournaments and events. Nissan is the title sponsor of the 2003 season and other AVP sponsors include Bud Light, Aquafina, Chapstick, and Paul Mitchell. All sponsors will be featured in the campaign materials.

First it was Pink, now it is Justin Timberlake. Clips from their music videos are being used in ads for Bally Total Fitness. The ad touts Timberlake's latest single "Rock Your Body" from his solo CD "Justified." The 30-second spot launched last week. Dogmatic put the ad together. The nationwide ad blends clips from Timberlake's performance of the song with footage of individuals working out, and will air in heavy rotation for six weeks on all major networks. In addition, Bally will introduce the "Rock Your Body" Member Referral program, where Bally's members can earn free dues for sponsoring new members.

Having recently debuted their newest flavor strictly online, Absolut has launched a set of interactive ads to support Absolut Vanilia, which is landing in the U.S. market. This campaign contains four online ads that use industrial imagery and sound effects to highlight the flavor of Absolut Vanilia. The tagline of the ads is "a different kind of vanilla," and will run on Maxim.com, EntertainmentWeekly.com, Style.com and Wired.com. The four ads were created by TBWAChiatDay in New York, with two already in rotation (Absolut Extract and Absolut Heavyweight) and two more (Absolut Persistence and Absolut Breakthrough) going live on May 1. The Absolut Extract ad shows a metallic background with a bottle-shaped opening. On the other side of the page, an outline of a transparent ghost-like Absolut Vanilia bottle floats. The user drags the bottle to its rightful place inside the ad, and a deafening searing noise sounds, as the bottle is sealed into place. In the Absolut Heavyweight ad, an empty cone and soft-serve ice cream machine entice viewers. As the user begins to serve ice cream, it transforms into an Absolut Vanilia bottle and the cone smashes to pieces under the extreme weight of the vodka.

Frankenstein is stiff no more, now that he has become the spokesperson for Rexall's Osteo Bi-Flex joint care supplement. The ads were created by Cramer-Krasselt and are airing on network daytime, early morning and evening news and cable shows, including Good Morning America, The Early Show, The Bold and Beautiful and As the World Turns. The spots open with the "Old Frank" lurching across a recreation of James Whale's classic 1931 movie set. "That was me," admits Frank as he watches himself on film. "What a stiff." Then, the commercial goes on to show Frank now that he's found Osteo Bi-Flex. Frank is now relaxed and rested and has even taken up yoga. The campaign launched in March, and will run through the end of the year as part of an estimated $15 million media program.

In the first of three Hispanic ad campaigns launching, World-renowned conjunto musician Flaco Jiménez, lends his famed accordion skills to two :30 Spanish-language TV spots for the Dodge Ram 1500 Lone Star Edition. The first of the commercials, featuring original music performed by Jiménez, launches last week in Texas. In one spot called "Fiesta," a Tejano crew is hard at work clearing land and hauling off debris in their Dodge Ram 1500 pickups. They are seen loading large wooden beams onto the Ram and then beginning construction. The structure is revealed as a stage; and a crowd waits for the stage lights to go up. Suddenly, the lights come up, but they emanate from the workers' Ram trucks parked next to the crowd. As a voiceover announces, "Ladies and gentlemen, Dodge presents Flaco Jiménez!" the famed musician steps into the light and starts jamming. Another spot, called "Ram Rustling," shows a group of Tejano cowboys on horseback in the Texas Hill Country spot a Dodge Ram 1500. With Flaco's accordion music setting the tone for the action, the "vaqueros" try to catch the Ram, but it out maneuvers them. Finally, one cowboy manages to jump from his horse to the back of the truck, sneaking into the cabin through the back window. The cowboys "herd" the truck to a ranch, and present the keys of the Ram to Flaco. "We caught you a great one, Flaco," one cowboy says in Spanish. "Just the one I wanted!" Flaco answers. The two spots were created by GlobalHue and will air on Univisión, Telemundo, Telefutura or independent stations in Dallas, El Paso, McAllen, San Antonio, and Houston.

American Honda Motor Co., has also launched a major marketing campaign targeting the Latino consumer. Beginning this month, an online campaign for Honda's Civic models premiered on YupiMSN.com. The campaign was developed by La Agencia de Orci and Asociados, and the campaign will run through July and target Hispanic males ages 18-24 on YupiMSN through skyscraper ads, and floating ads. The ads promote the Civic Coupe, Sedan and Si models through two creative executions, "Thumbprint" and "Silhouettes," which communicate to the audience that there is a Civic for every lifestyle. A second component of the campaign is a sweepstakes where participants have the opportunity to register to win a Microsoft Xbox video game console and a customized racing themed accessories package.

Castells & Asociados Advertising, has launched a new TV advertising campaign for Mervyn's. Four new spots that will begin to air this month, and each TV spot features a well-known Hispanic celebrity (Jaime Camil, Graciela Beltran, Edith Gonzalez and Adamari Lopez. The creative theme of the campaign, "La ropa lo hace todo" ("the clothes say it all"), portrays the clothes, instead of the celebrities, as the stars of the spots. The spots will run throughout the year, and each ends with the tagline "Big Brands, Small Prices" ("Grandes Marcas, Precios Pequeños.").

Forbes.com introduced a Brand Increase Guarantee last fall that offered a money-back guarantee to advertisers if advertising on their website didn't increase brand metrics. To promote the results of this proposition, Forbes.com has created an in-house ad, which releases initial results of the program, based on campaigns with marketers such as AT&T, Samsung, Acura, LG and BearingPoint. The ad appears in the April 14 issue of Advertising Age, in the May issue of MEDIA Magazine (OTL's sister publication), and the May 14 issue of Forbes. The results show a lift in each of the four brand metrics measured (Message Association, Purchase Consideration, Aided Awareness and Brand Favorability) by third party research firm Dynamic Logic.

This week's website launches include:

White Horse has launched a website for The Nautilus Group's new product campaign. The site promotes TreadClimber, a cardiovascular fitness exercise machine. TreadClimber helps users burn more calories than a treadmill at the same speed and incline. The website gives product information for all of The Nautilus Group's fitness products, along with ways to purchase the equipment online.

Agency.com has launched QualityHealthCare.org for The Institute for Healthcare Improvement. The free site enables health care professionals to tap the expertise of their colleagues across the globe to improve the quality of health care. The site contains strategies, analytical tools, case studies, discussion forums, and access to some of the world's leading health care experts. At the heart of the site is an online discussion forum enabling the free exchange of ideas and experiences. Content areas will focus on specific topics, with the first two addressing patient safety and improvement methods. Content areas to appear in the coming months include chronic conditions, critical care, office practices, end-of-life care, leadership, HIV/AIDS, and workforce development.