• by Lindsey Fadner , June 6, 2002

Every week new ad campaigns and websites are launched, and it’s hard to keep up with them all. To recap some of this week’s highlights: 2002 World Cup ads are hot, Intel says “Yes,” and the Yellow Pages hope to have you “Sold.” Find out about these campaigns and more in this week’s edition of “Out to Launch.”

Though soccer is not closely followed in the United States, the principal market for Nike, it is enormously popular elsewhere, and the frenzy over the World Cup is proof. The “Secret Tournament” campaign, by the Amsterdam office of Wieden & Kennedy, appears in 42 countries and includes commercials, print advertisements, online games, two websites (nikefootball.com and nikesoccer.com), and retail events.

Adidas, one of the fifteen official sponsors of the 2002 World Cup (paying somewhere between $20 and $25 million for the privilege), is not letting Nike's campaign go unanswered. The Adidas campaign, created by a partnership between TBWA Worldwide, part of the Omnicom Group, and an Amsterdam agency named 180, has big stars signed to endorsement contracts. The Adidas players, who include David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Raul, are seen in humorous commercials about a condition called "footballitis" that is studied by goofy-looking scientists at an institute.

Another company hoping to benefit from high World Cup ratings is The Home Depot. This week they launched a new Hispanic TV commercial featuring Olympic Speedskating gold medalist Derek Parra, which focuses on the company's commitment to helping make dreams come true in the community. Parra, who won gold and silver medals in Salt Lake City, became the first Mexican-American ever to medal at an Olympic Winter Games. He worked as a Home Depot associate in the electrical and flooring departments for four years to fund his training. The 30-second commercial will air on Univision, Telefutura, and Galavision throughout the entire 2002 World Cup, marking the first time Home Depot has advertised during the soccer tournament. Home Depot's Hispanic advertising agency, Casanova Pendrill of Irvine, California, is responsible for the creative.

In print advertising: Intel Corporation has initiated a multi-million dollar worldwide campaign, via Euro RSCG MVBMS, New York, that highlights what the Intel brand means to businesses: innovation, stability and reliability across a broad range of technological offerings. Using the theme "Yes," the campaign answers questions CEOs and CIOs are asking about the direction of technology. The ads feature provocative questions such as, "Can a company that doesn't make computers change the course of computing history?" and "Can a microscopic piece of technology solve enterprise-sized problems?" The answer is "Yes." In addition to print, the “Yes” campaign will consist of outdoor and online elements. Print ads began running U.S. publications on June 4, and additional ads will break in key global markets in the coming months.

The Yellow Pages Integrated Media Association also launched a hard-hitting print advertising campaign this week in order to drive home the value of Yellow Pages advertising versus that of television, radio, magazine and other advertising media. The campaign targets media buyers and national advertising directors, and stresses the Yellow Pages’ unique ability to help close a sale. The “SOLD” campaign, via Tierney DeGregorio Advertising pokes fun at television (“I am television. I am costly and glamorous. I can make people love you.”); radio (“I am radio. I am thousands of dollars a minute. I can make people sing your jingle in their sleep.”); and magazines (“We are magazines. We are expensive and shiny. We can make you famous.”), comparing their messages with the Yellow Pages’ simple, “I am the Yellow Pages. I sell things.”

Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest wireless network, is introducing a new campaign for its FREEUP prepay wireless service through national TV, radio and print ads that hit this month. Targeting late teens and young adults, the new Verizon Wireless FREEUP campaign, created by Southfield-based GlobalHue, communicates the brand's essence of freedom and control, and reinforces FREEUP as the better way to prepay. TV spots begin appearing this month on ABC, NBC, WB, Fox, BET, Comedy Central, TBS, TNN, USA and UPN. Print ads will appear in Vibe, The Source, Rolling Stone, YM, Teen People, T&W Skateboarding, ESPN-The Magazine and Cosmopolitan. The campaign also includes a 30- second national radio spot, which will air on national radio networks.

To highlight its unique Cardmember rewards service, Discover Card is bringing its well-known "It Pays to Discover" tagline back in a new series of television ads. Two of the new television ads feature Discover Card's most recognizable reward, the Cashback Bonus. The third ad highlights the Discover 2GO Card, the first card of its kind with a unique, compact shape housed in a protective case that easily attaches to a key chain, belt or money clip. The new advertising campaign, created by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco, began airing with the Cashback Bonus award spots on June 2 during the Winston Cup NASCAR race broadcast on FX. The Discover 2GO Card spot will begin airing later this month. The ads will continue to air on the NBA finals on NBC, Primetime, Early Morning News, Cable Networks and Syndication for the balance of 2002.

Car company Kia announced Tuesday that it will be the exclusive automotive partner for the home video and DVD version of "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," scheduled to be released by New Line Home Entertainment on Aug. 6. Kia said the promotion will be "one of the cornerstones of the marketing efforts" toward the launch of its Sorento SUV, which will go on sale this summer nationwide. The campaign will include TV, print, Internet and POP. Media is per Davidandgoliath, Los Angeles, while promotion is via East West Creative, Los Angeles.

Rocker David Bowie gets creative while promoting his 28th album, "Heathen." Thirty- and 60-second commercials, per Gary Koepke, creative director and partner of Modernista!, announce the release of the album and will break in mid-June. While Modernista! worked with rockers in last year's holiday campaign for former client the Gap, the Bowie commercials mark Koepke’s directorial debut.

Blue jean giant Lee plans to support each of its sub-brands with TV and print campaigns via Fallon, Minneapolis that will launch this summer and run through year-end. Lee Dungarees is first out of the gate with two humorous TV spots that begin airing in July. In an effort to highlight the product, the brand's icon Buddy Lee character takes a back seat in the ads, which feature Lee Original Blue Jeans as the hero. Ads will run on Saturday Night Live, MTV and talk shows such as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Last Call with Carson Daily and others. On the women's side, a five-page insert touting Lee Performance Khakis and Riveted by Lee is slated to run Sept.-Nov. in Glamour, Good Housekeeping, O and more. Lee Performance Khakis get an additional boost with a TV spot that airs in September that features a humorous demonstration of its stain-resistant technology. National ads run during the Sept. 15 Emmy program, pre- and post-Emmy shows, Good Morning America, The Today Show and Entertainment Tonight.

Meanwhile, Unilever Bestfoods hopes kids will take to slurping peanut butter when it launches Skippy Squeeze Stix, the first Skippy peanut butter in a tube, backed by a national TV and print push. Graphics on the plastic tube will feature an icon named Skip shown surfing on an ocean of peanut butter. A national TV and print effort via BBDO, New York and tagged "Squeeze the fun" is the first major initiative for Skippy since Unilever created the world's largest food company by acquiring Englewood, N.J.-based Bestfoods and its portfolio of brands for $20.3 billion in 2000.

On a different note: The Advertising Council and the Federal Voting Assistance Program are launching a unique public service ad campaign urging youths to register and vote in the upcoming elections. Several spots from WestWayne, Atlanta offer comical portrayals of everyday situations in which a person's right to choose is taken away. One spot features a young woman starting to tell a stylist how to cut her hair when a man,"decision guy," appears and makes the decision for her. In another spot, a man trying to order at a fast-food restaurant has his order changed by the decision guy. The spots conclude with the tagline "Stinks when other people make decisions for you. That's what happens when you don't vote."

In online news: TVA Productions, Los Angeles-based producers of three nationally acclaimed TV news magazines (Business World News, Health World News, and Entertainment World News) announced today the launch of three new websites, according to CEO Jeffrey Goddard. The three corresponding .tv websites (businessworldnews.tv, healthworldnews.tv, and entertainmentworldnews.tv) are interlinked with each other and the originating parent company website, www.tvaproductions.com. Each of the new .tv websites shares a common design aesthetic in layout, color, and functionality.

-- This newsletter is compiled weekly by MediaPost staff writer Lindsey Fadner. Past issues are archived at the MediaPost website. Your comments, questions and submissions are always welcome and appreciated.