Commentary

Out to Launch

The Super Bowl is over and it's back to plain old everyday launches. But I'm not ready to let go just yet. Here are some Super Bowl ads that got away and some new, non-Super Bowl spots. Let's launch!

First things first: My favorite Super Bowl ads were the two Ameriquest spots, namely the spot involving a white cat, a butcher knife, spilled red sauce, and a tag line of "Don't judge too quickly. We Won't." My least favorite spot, and I might be in the minority here, was Fed-Ex, featuring Burt Reynolds and a dancing, talking, and groin-kicking bear. Now on to some Super Bowl ads not featured last week.

Last Wednesday, The Ford Motor Company pulled an ad supporting the 2006 Lincoln Mark LT pick-up truck. In the ad, a girl places the keys to her father's truck in the collection plate. The spot showed the clergyman admiring the truck, until he realized the mistake made. The spot ended with the clergyman placing the letters "LT" on the church marquee to spell out next week's sermon topic, "LUST." The ad was pulled after receiving complaints about its content in light of recent scandals involving the Catholic Church. The spot was replaced with an ad for the Ford Mustang. The ad showed a convertible with the top down waiting at a red light in the middle of winter. A police officer wonders why the driver hasn't driven off, once the light turned green. He taps on the driver's face to find that he's frozen solid. But he's got a smile on his face ear to ear. Young and Rubicam created both ads.

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Brickyard VFX lent a hand to DDB Dallas on the Anheuser-Busch "Journey" spot created by the agency. The 30-second spot shows a giraffe, elephant, and a kangaroo, each making its way to a barnyard. The next shot shows a llama, ostrich, buffalo, camel, goat, cow, and two sheep, all with the same idea: getting a place on the famous horse team. The stable doors open to show a donkey harnessed up with the thoroughbreds, being berated for setting off this trend.

The latest "What happens here, stays here" spot, which encourages visitors to vacation in Las Vegas, ran in seven local markets (New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, Boston, and Philadelphia) during the Super Bowl. Doesn't sound like a big deal, only problem is that the NFL has strict rules about ads promoting gambling airing during the big game. "Punch Drunk" was created by R&R Partners. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority purchased the ad time.

PEDIGREE launched a global campaign celebrating the things that people love most about dogs. Created by TBWAChiatDay Los Angeles, the campaign consists of print, online, and TV ads, as well as outdoor creative in key markets including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Creative features images of dogs at different ages and stages engaging in activities such as jumping to catch a ball, gazing with soulful eyes, or napping, supported by statements such as "Dogs Rule." Print ads will appear in People, Time, Oprah and Rolling Stone and run for six months. TV ads share heartfelt beliefs about the brands' love of dogs and the joy dogs bring into people's lives. Following the U.S. launch, the PEDIGREE campaign will air in France, the United Kingdom, Mexico, China, Japan, Canada, and Poland.

In an effort intended to rally New Yorkers and create buzz for the city's bid to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Y&R New York created "Bugler's Dream." The two-minute spot -- with 60- and 30-second variations -- showcases New York through black and white imagery with various musical renditions of the Bugler's Dream theme. A pro bono project, "Bugler's Dream" will appear on donated media on various local and cable broadcast outlets. Black and white images of the Wall Street area, the ferry terminal, Central Park and the Bethesda Fountain, break dancers, a horse drawn carriage ride, the lights of Broadway, Yankee Stadium, the Wollman ice skating rink, an empty early morning subway stop, and the city skyline are shown throughout the spot.

The Advertising Council and CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation have teamed up to launch a Public Service Announcement (PSA) to help children with cancer and their families receive the resources and support they need to conquer childhood cancer. Miss America 2005 Deidre Downs will support the foundation's campaign as part of her year of service as Miss America 2005. Cancer is the No. 1 disease killer of children in the United States. Forty-six children are diagnosed with cancer every day in the United States. The campaign aims to raise awareness that childhood cancer - while growing in incidence - is increasingly curable. Created pro bono by Y&R, the TV, radio, and print PSAs feature the juxtaposition of life "before" and "after" a child is diagnosed with cancer. In one spot, a child asks, "Why do they call it a funnybone? Why can't penguins fly? Can we go to the moon on vacation?" Actress Jodie Foster then provides a voice-over, which says, "If you think it's tough answering these questions, imagine the ones you'll get if your child is diagnosed with cancer. CureSearch.org can help... You're not as alone as you feel."

Is this a new form of product placement? Even while I'm on vacation? Holland America Line has added the "Explorations Café - powered by The New York Times," to some of its cruise ships. The café is a living room-style environment where guests can eat and browse through a selection of more than 2,000 books, listen to music, and surf the Internet. The café even has tables with glass tops featuring New York Times crossword puzzles where guests can use grease pencils to complete the puzzles. The ms Ryndam will be the first ship to showcase the cafe.

Prior to the Super Bowl, Anheuser-Busch launched a campaign that features the company's chairman, August A. Busch III, about its battle against underage drinking and drunk driving. The spot was filmed in the Clydesdale stables, where Busch discusses the company's commitment to being part of the solution to alcohol issues and speaks outs against underage drinking saying, "Together we can win this fight." This is the first time that an Anheuser-Busch chairman has appeared in a "responsibility" ad. The 60-second spot will debut during "Law and Order" and will also air on such programs as "Anderson Cooper 360." The campaign will also include radio, print, and outdoor to launch later in the year.

United Virtualities launched a weeklong Ooqa-Ooqa browser campaign for the SpongeBob SquarePants movie. The campaign ran on Citv.co.uk. When a user entered the site, the browser became chock full of SpongeBob SquarePants branding, featuring principal characters from the movie. The Ooqa-Ooqa also provided the ability to view the movie trailer, a link to the Web site and a clickable signpost, which launched an animated promotion inside the browser. ZED UK created the campaign.

In Web site launches this week:

I can't forget Valentine's Day, now can I? Those folks at Night Agency know how to push the envelope... or URL. To promote KY Warming Ultra Gel, the agency created a Web site called Warm-Up Date.com. The site prompts users to choose a date path - either a man or a woman. A series of incidents take place and the player must choose one of two options. A right answer gets you warmer and a wrong one gets you colder. At the end of the game you receive a candy heart with a score. Mine said "Well done. You're all warmed up and tonight should be HOT!!" Visitors can sign up to receive a free sample of KY Warming Ultra Gel and e-mail the "date" to their friends.

Carey International, a provider of chauffeured ground transportation services, launched a new Web site. The new site balances e-commerce with other site objectives, including branding and informational resources for all of Carey's target audiences - passengers, travel agents, corporate travel planners, and event planners. For example, the e-Reservation Center is now accessible from every page of the site, designed by Stein Rogan + Partners.

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