• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, January 12, 2005

The beginning of the Super Bowl ads (well, one legit, and one reject). Jinkees! Dove uses animated testimonials for its latest campaign. PSA created to aid tsunami victims. Let's launch!

And so begins the Super Bowl ads. There will be more to come in the upcoming weeks. MBNA Corporation is debuting its first national commercial during the big game. Talk about pressure. The 30-second ad will run during the first quarter of the game and is part of a larger branding campaign. Gladys Knight is in the ad! No word on The Pips though. The campaign will focus on the wide range of affinity credit card products that MBNA offers. Additional components of the campaign include print, online, outdoor, and direct marketing. The campaign was developed by The Helm Agency, New York.

There will be no wardrobe malfunctions at this year's Super Bowl if Fox has anything to do about it. According to a USA Today article, Fox rejected an ad that would have shown the backside of a well-known actor -- Mickey Rooney. I can't imagine that being TiVoed over and over. Rooney is plugging Airborne, a natural cold remedy. The ad shows Rooney in a sauna, clad only in a towel. When someone behind him coughs, Rooney freaks out and drops his towel, revealing his behind for roughly two seconds. The 15-second spot would have cost the company $1.2 million. But you can't put a price on free publicity.

In rapid response to the tsunami tragedy, former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton teamed up with The Advertising Council to launch a PSA encouraging Americans to donate financially to humanitarian organizations that are conducting relief operations. Created pro bono by McCann-Erickson New York (in just two days), the TV, radio, newspaper, magazine, outdoor, and online ads direct people to visit www.usafreedomcorps.gov, where they can find a list of humanitarian organizations accepting donations to aid in the disaster relief. The campaign includes both English and Spanish-language advertising and is being distributed to more than 28,000 media outlets nationwide.

To launch Dove Styling (five hairsprays and seven styling aids), Dove decided to use some recognizable women in its campaign. Animated ones, that is. Wilma Flintstone ("The Flintstones"), Jane Jetson ("The Jetsons"), Velma Dinkley ("Scooby-Doo"), and Marge Simpson ("The Simpsons") are part of an integrated campaign (TV, print, and outdoor) to hawk Dove's new hair styling products. All these women share a common bond - hair that is famously stuck in place. After using Dove styling, the four women finally discover the beauty of hair that moves. Television spots, created by Ogilvy & Mather Chicago, launched this month, and print breaks in February. The ads can be seen on high-rated shows targeting women. Print ads show each character before they use Dove Styling, and the dramatic change afterwards.

Monster's New Year's resolution is for people to find fulfilling jobs in their local market. The company launched a month-long radio (yes, you read correctly) "January Jobs Campaign" that is running in 41 local markets via 180 local market radio stations and their Web sites. As part of this effort, Monster is offering employers that are new Monster customers the opportunity to post one free U.S.-based job listing. Those postings go live on February 1, on "Ultimate Career Day." To drive job seekers to the site, Monster will provide a free month of music on Rhapsody, and one free music download, as well as enter job seekers in a drawing to win a $50,000 cash prize when they upload or edit a new or existing resume during the month of January. In addition, every half hour throughout the day on February 1, Monster will air one-minute "Monster Career Moments," hosted by Jeff Taylor. "Monster Career Moments" will feature inspiring clips from Taylor's interviews with notable businessmen and women, athletes and celebrities, as well as Monster's own career tips and listener success stories. The ads were created by Infinity and feature their DJs.

Tyco has launched the next phase of its "Vital" campaign, which first debuted in June. "Global" and "Anthem" illustrate Tyco's products and services and their impact on people worldwide. The ads show Tyco products such as Scott breathing systems helping firefighters to save people from a burning building in South Africa and an infant pulse oximetry monitor, observing the health of a hospitalized infant in Minneapolis. The ads are running on cable news and business channels (CNBC and CNN) and news and political commentary programs (NBC's "Meet the Press" and "CBS Sunday Morning"). Plans are in place to run the spots on offshore TV networks like CNN International and CNBC International. Hill Holiday created the campaign.

Ad Network BURST! Media has begun to sell advertising on blogs represented in its network. One of the first advertisers to launch a campaign was Kyocera Wireless last week on Screenhead, Gizmodo, and Defamer (all part of Gawker Media). The Kyocera Wireless campaign is running expandable leader boards promoting the advergame "Red Carpet Blitz" which features the company's new wireless camera phone, the Koi/KX2. The purpose of the game is to demonstrate the phone's various features. Media Revolution created the campaign.

ISM has created a campaign for The Crane, a Caribbean resort. Initial advertising was running strictly on the island, with print ads launching in the United States this year. The "Be Seen" and "Go West" ads use the idea of "we" in every headline. The tag line is: "When you get here, you'll know." To convey the resort's privacy and serenity, "Be Seen" tells vacationers, "We don't come here to be seen, we come here to disappear. Mainland gossip is seldom the topic of conversation here. Though there is often audible appreciation for our spacious accommodations atop a stunning cliff, nestled amongst the powdery pink sand. This is the other side of Barbados, unspoiled, devoid of traffic noise, mosquitoes, and formality."

Keeping with warm places I'd rather be, Green Team, New York City has created a campaign for Raffles Resort at Canouan Island, The Grenadines. The luxury resort opened this month and is the first Raffles Resort in the Caribbean. The campaign's tag line is: "For the fortunate few." Ads are running in The New York Times, Dallas Morning News, Atlanta Constitution, PGA Champions Tour Annual, Spa Magazine, Romantic Places, and Island Weddings & Honeymoons.

Frost Bank has launched the next phase of an ongoing branding campaign. "We're From Here" remains the tag line in the print and radio spots. (could the recently-launched AM-FM radio campaign touting the medium's strengths be working already?) One print ad features the headline, "1868: Common Courtesy 2005: Uncommon Courtesy," emphasizing that Frost offers the same capabilities of a larger bank without skimping on personal attention that a small-town bank would offer. The ad debuted in this month's issue of Texas Monthly along with local market newspapers and business journals. Radio spots will feature interviews with Frost customers as they talk about their financial dreams and promote Frost's financial management services. These spots debut in February throughout Texas. McGarrah/Jessee created the campaign.

In Web site launches this week:

Volvo Cars of North America has launchedBoldlygo.com to support its first-ever Super Bowl advertising initiative, which will introduce the Volvo XC90V8. Boldlygo.com will serve as the hub for all activities related to Volvo's ad, aimed at raising awareness for the first-ever V8-powered Volvo. To celebrate the launch, Volvo will offer visitors an opportunity to win an extreme adventure travel package to occur by air, underwater, or over the sea. Through Jan. 26, visitors to the site will have the opportunity to select what they consider to be the most powerful trip: participating in an astronaut-trained, zero-gravity jet flight; riding an ice-breaker cruise ship through the Antarctic, or traveling by submarine off the coast of the Grand Caymans After registering their vote, visitors will be entered into a contest to win a trip for two to the location they select. Volvo is producing the campaign with Euro RSCG Worldwide.

Sedgwick Rd. has created a Web site for Nintendo called "Start Mayhem," supporting the company's Game Boy Advance SP. The site features Webisodes that give each of the Game Boy Advance SP colors its own personality. Colors include Flame, which "revels in chaos," and Onyx, the "cool guy." My favorite part of the site is the "Personality Test," which matches you up with the Game Boy Advance SP that you relate to the most. Hello world, I'm Flame. This Web site is part of an integrated campaign which includes a TV spot, radio, and print ads.

ANNODYNE interactive has launched CareerPhilly.com, an online destination for students, employers, and universities in the Greater Philadelphia region. Students can upload their resume and search for available positions; employers can post available internship and job opportunities, search for available candidates and monitor candidate interest and submissions within the Web site. Visitors can also access career development events and workshops taking place in the region, along with tips and advice on topics such as interviewing, networking, and conducting a job search.