• April 13, 2003

Nokia announced that it will create a North American initiative of its college advertising program, The New U, which began as a pilot program with the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia during the fall 2002 and spring 2003 semesters. Two of the student ads created in the pilot were made into national TV spots featuring the new Nokia 3650 camera phone and will begin airing nationally this week. Designed to "find, foster and promote" the best creative minds among university-level advertising programs, The New U provides students an opportunity to develop TV commercials for real products. The success of the pilot program encouraged Nokia to make a minimum two-year commitment to The New U. Simulating the client-agency creative briefing, representatives from Nokia will visit each participating school to provide students with an overview of the brand and the featured Nokia product. Students will then handle all aspects of ad creation including conceptualizing, copywriting, filming, editing and presentation to Nokia. Beginning March 26, Nokia began showcasing eight ads produced by the students during the fall 2002 semester on its web site. The general public can view the ads online, select the one they believe is the best and register for a chance to win one of eight Nokia 3650 camera phones, the phone featured in the ads. Each week between March 26 and May 23, a new student ad will be featured online and a Nokia 3650 camera phone will be given away .