• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, August 20, 2003

Old Spice finds a linebacker to hawk their product. Orbitz launches the first gay travel TV ad. Just for Men goes after the Hispanic population. These are just a few of the ad campaigns launched this week. Read on for more details.

The Discovery Channel has done it again. To promote "Shark Week," which aired August 10-17, the network again embraced the alternative outdoor advertising medium. The lucky cities this time were New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Orlando. These OOH ads, which support national print, TV and outdoor advertising, included an underwater ad in the shape of a great white shark approaching from below, complete with Shark Week tune-in details. The decal, measuring 6,500-square feet, was placed on the bottom of the world-class wave pool at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas from August 1-10. A similar underwater ad, measuring 1,000 square feet, was installed on the pool bottom at the Royal Pacific Resort Hotel in Orlando. Another aspect of the campaign was the creation of "shark bite media," where various common objects - such as cars, surfboards and trashcans - were made to appear as they have been bitten by sharks. The objects were placed in high-traffic areas such as Times Square and Grand Central Station in New York and Santa Monica Pier and Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, and carried the message "Shark Week Is Back." Interference, Inc. created the guerilla campaign.

Orbitz launched the first-ever gay travel television commercial this past June. The ad debuted on Bravo and BBC America during Pride Week. It also aired on the premiere episode of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." The spot, directed by Roman Coppola, features the Destination Orbitz Team helping a group of gay travelers book hotel rooms for a long "party weekend" in Miami. Orbitz was the first online travel agency to offer permanent content and deals for the gay and lesbian travel community, with the launch of a "micro-site" in 2002. The spot will air on Bravo during Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Boy Meets Boy and on BBC America during Graham Norton and Absolutely Fabulous through October. Y&R designed the campaign.

Brian Urlacher, a linebacker with the Chicago Bears, has signed a two-year advertising deal with Old Spice to help launch its new Red Zone Deodorant. Urlacher will appear in Old Spice's print and TV advertising spots, beginning this month, as well as make promotional and media appearances for the brand. The first series of Urlacher advertisements were created by Saatchi & Saatchi. Thirty-second television spots debuted on August 11th, and will be seen during popular cable and network TV programs.

AKA Advertising has launched four new commercials this week for Foot Locker's back to school campaign. Foot Locker has chosen the forthcoming "back to school" time to nationally reposition Lady Foot Locker, launch Foot Locker's famously dressed sales rep as an icon, and put on a whole new branding campaign for its suburban Champs megastore division. In one ad, entitled "Kung Fu," the Foot Locker sales rep has commandeered the projection booth of a theater showing badly dubbed kung fu movies. The striped rep overdubs his own soundtrack, and it's all about the latest back-to-school footwear and apparel from Foot Locker. Another ad, entitled "Barber Shop," kicks off the new "Champs Sportsville -- the place where sports lives," a.k.a. a fantasy city where athletes live when they're not playing their games. At the town barbershop -- run by NFL stars Tiki and Ronde Barber -- rap stars Nelly and Murphy Lee await their turns in the chairs. The spotlight is stolen by the unofficial mayor of Champs Sportsville, a character named Doc, who analyzes the footwear and apparel of every kid that walks into the barbershop.

La Agencia de Orcí & Asociados is launching an advertising campaign for a new Hispanic shade of Just For Men Haircolor to U.S. Latino consumers this fall. The :30 spot for Just For Men will air the fourth quarter of 2003. The national distribution of the new shade of Just For Men Haircolor features Spanish-language packaging, which will be carried in mass retail, drug and grocery stores in the country, including Albertsons, Kmart, Longs, Publix, Ralphs, Safeway and Walgreens.

Speaking of Hispanic campaigns, Panasonic Consumer Electronic Company has launched a bilingual mobile marketing promotion called "Save Your Summer" or "Dale vida a tu verano!" to increase awareness of the Panasonic brand among the 18-24 demographic. The program, running through Labor Day, will enhance the summer with Panasonic summer saving products, digital cameras, portable audio systems, plasma TVs, and DVD-Recorders. Ambulances have been retrofitted as Panasonic Fun Emergency Vehicles (FEV), with the latest Panasonic products, including a home theater system, Digital Still Camera photo printer and a Nintendo GameCube. A five-person "Rescue Team" will staff each FEV and will visit Major League Soccer games, MLS Futbolito events, summer concerts at Jones Beach (NY), PNC Bank Arts Center (NJ), and Verizon Amphitheater, to name a few. The Panasonic Fun Emergency Vehicle will also be spotted in Milwaukee, San Jose, Kansas, Colorado, Boston and San Francisco. Renegade Marketing Group created the promotion. Online ads will run on MTV.com, heavy.com and migente.com.

AutoTrader.com has launched a series of TV ads, running all summer, in an effort to build brand awareness. The spots will run during top-performing summer shows including TNN's "CSI," Discovery Channel's "Monster Garage," USA Network's "Dead Zone" and Comedy Central's "Daily Show with Jon Stewart." The company reaches more than 7 million unique monthly visitors, who conduct more than 30 million vehicle searches per month from a database of 2.2 million vehicles.

San Diego is about to get a targeted campaign revolving around Miller Brewing Company's "Great Taste. Less Filling" campaign. Di Zinno developed localized print ads that will focus on the unique characteristics that set San Diego apart from the rest. The creative campaign will create dichotomies, pitting San Diego's historic Gaslamp district against fun and funky Pacific Beach, and San Diego State University against neighboring UC San Diego in a highly localized advertising campaign that reflects the diverse personality of the city. Between 12 and 16 print ads will run over the course of four months in local publications targeting 21-34 year old men.

In website launches this week:

Clear Ink has launched a website for Good Technology. The site coincides with Good's launch of its 2.0 software version, allowing users to better understand Good's wireless data offering and inquire for more information. The goal of the redesign was to introduce Good Technology's products and services, while conveying the benefits of having their end-to-end platform. Good Technology announced the availability of GoodLinkTM 2.0, an upgrade to the company's real-time synchronized system for wirelessly connecting users with Microsoft Exchange and other enterprise information.

Finally, Palm Pictures has launched a new website. The company develops, produces and finds a fascinating global mix of film, music video, animation and visual art with a constant eye on creating the most unique, interactive and entertaining DVDs available. Palm Pictures has a record label, distributes independent films and owns RES magazine. The site was designed by Sputnik7 and offers news and information about Palm Pictures' music and film releases, streaming music videos, film trailers, and downloads.