• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, April 20, 2005

MPA looks into the future. Orbitz loves Wink Martindale. Milk aids PMS symptoms. Let's Launch!

Jose Cuervo launched an online campaign to support Cinco de Mayo - this year's date is 05/05/05. Draft Digital New York created e-mail blasts, banner ads, and a Cinco de Mayo content section on the Jose Cuervo Web site. The promotion will send 300 winners to CuervoNation, an eight-acre island off the coast of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, for a long weekend. Guests will attend a "Cuervo de Mayo" party that includes a beachfront concert from Hoobastank. In addition, Cuervo will be giving away 500 satellite radios and 25,000 free music downloads via an SMS program that runs through May 31. The Cinco de Mayo-themed section on CuervoNation.com features party tips, recipes, and concert highlights. ID Media, New York handled media planning and buying for the campaign.

Boston Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein and Centerfielder Johnny Damon teamed up off the field for the latest Dunkin' Donuts campaign touting the brand's new seasonal iced lattes. In the 30-second spot, Theo discovers Johnny concealing a balding head with a longhaired wig. He is shocked to learn that Damon's signature locks aren't real. Johnny begs Theo not to reveal his secret, but Epstein's silence comes with a price: Johnny's Chocolate Dipped Iced Latte. Later that day, Damon bumps into Epstein and says, "So, we're cool, right?" Theo replies, "I'm still a little thirsty," prompting Damon to forfeit a second latte. The ad was created by Hill, Holliday, and will run from April 18 through May 29.

Phase two of The Magazine Publishers of America's (MPA) $40 million, three-year multimedia campaign debuted last week, featuring a new set of faux magazine covers, some dated nearly 100 years in the future. Nothing beats one of the original ads in the launch - a Sports Illustrated cover dated 2105 with the headline "Hell Freezes Over: Cubs Win 2105 World Series." Beginning last week, Car & Driver,Cosmopolitan, Parents, Reader'sDigest, Smithsonian and Travel + Leisure magazineswere wrapped in faux covers and sent to advertising decision makers. New covers will debut every month, and at least 50 more titles will participate between June and December. The cover lines include: Parents: "Pregnant at 75: The Risks and Rewards"; Reader's Digest: "Androids v. Clones: Where Do You Stand?" and Smithsonian: "Exploring the Beaches of Antarctica." The campaign's tag line is "Read On" and was produced by Fallon New York.

GOT MILK? TV spots always show a person in need of milk. My personal favorite remains the "Aaron Burr" spot or "Awooon Buuuhh," depending on your favorite scene. In its latest campaign, the GOT MILK spot refers to research findings stating that milk reduces PMS symptoms. According to research published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, calcium reduces the symptoms of PMS by 50 percent. "Milk to the Rescue" opens on scenes of men stocking up on gallons of milk. The viewer has no idea why this is happening until we see a guy coming home with milk and flowers. The viewer finds out that the calcium found in milk makes that "time-of-the-month" a little better. The spot ends with the famous tag line, "GOT MILK?" and is set to Barry White music. Is this ad revenge for having to sit through countless erectile dysfunction ads? The spot debuted Monday and was created by CMPB's (California Milk Processor Board's) longtime agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

Keeping with milk campaigns, BC Dairy Foundation (BCDF) launched a campaign for milk that takes viewers back to the Stone Age. Developed by DDB Canada, the campaign uses animation and humor to appeal to young adults - and to persuade them to drink more milk. The ads feature cavemen, dinosaurs, and other prehistoric beasts, and uses the tag line: "It's always been survival of the fittest. Drink milk." Campaign elements include TV, cinema, outdoor, point-of-purchase executions, and a Web site created by Tribal DDB that brings a caveman back to life. "Second Chance Caveman" who, after being frozen for 2 million years is brought back to life, this time trying to make healthier food choices. By clicking on the paper and photos on the wall, visitors can contact Second Chance by e-mail or snail mail. In one postcard, a caveman is trying to hide from a T-Rex behind a tree but, out of shape, his large stomach extends beyond the tree's cover making him visible to the approaching predator. Cinema ads launched on April 1. Other elements debut May 2, continuing through the end of the year.

T-Mobile has launched two ads promoting T-Mobile To Go, the company's prepaid service. Chances are Catherine Zeta- Jones won't make an appearance in these ads. "Bowling" features wannabe urban hip-hoppers posing as a pseudo-prepaid company called "PoserMobile." This group tackles a prepaid wireless user in the middle of a phone call to inform him that he has run out of minutes because of additional fees that include "25 cents to connect and an extra dollar a day." Tired of being short-changed, the customer switches to T-Mobile To Go, which offers a flat rate, per-minute pricing based on the refill card purchased. The commercial ends with the tag line, "T-Mobile To Go. Straight Up Prepaid." "Restaurant" debuts later this month. Both ads are airing on cable and network television through the end of May during popular primetime shows. The ads were created by Publicis West, Seattle.

TV game shows are light-hearted and highly addicting (no whammies... STOP) and online travel site Orbitz has incorporated them in its latest TV campaign. The ads launched last week and feature a classic game show set and host (unearthing Wink Martindale) to illustrate how viewers can "win" with Orbitz. Two contestants -- a father, with his three children literally crawling all over him, and a computer expert -- compete to book hotels online. The challenge? Find a hotel in Hawaii on a golf course for under $100 per night. The father, despite being distracted, easily wins by using Orbitz. Young & Rubicam Chicago created the campaign.

Olive Garden launched a campaign running from April 11 through May 29 to celebrate the fifth anniversary of its Culinary Institute of Tuscany. The promotion includes TV and print ads, a sweepstakes to win a trip to Italy, a cooking demonstration on "The Tony Danza Show" and several in-restaurant initiatives.The TV spot features the new Tuscan Garlic Chicken and Olive Garden's Culinary Institute of Tuscany's Head Chef Romana Neri. The online sweepstakes will send four winners and their guests to the Tuscan region of Italy for eight days. The trip includes a visit to the Culinary Institute kitchen to cook with Chef Neri. Grey Worldwide created the TV and print ads.

Garnier has tapped actress Heather Graham to hawk 100% Color in a national TV and print campaign for launching this month. Graham will be wearing shade # 913 -- Light Beige Blonde in the campaign. It can't hurt that the actress signed on to star in the ABC pilot "Emily's Reasons Why Not," about a self-help author who doesn't take her own advice on dating. The campaign was created by Publicis New York.

To celebrate the second season of its drama McLeod's Daughters, WE transformed Union Square in New York City into a ranch, and held the first ever Ropin' Men Round-Up. (The one time I don't walk through the park and this is what I miss.) Female cowgirls roped New York City bachelors while riding horses through the park. Passersby were treated to lasso lessons and an appearance by Naked Cowboy. The event was produced by the michael alan group.

To promote the April 16 debut of "REEFER MADNESS," Showtime's first musical feature film, 400 television writers and critics were sent a "stash box" complete with a false bottom for storing what you don't want your coworkers to steal... snacks! Crafted to look like an antique wooden cigar box, the kit contained the "REEFER MADNESS" DVD, a 40-page press book, a brownie, chocolate chip cookie, and microwave popcorn. The kit also includes the "REEFER MADNESS" soundtrack, a mouse pad and a teaser postcard for Showtime's upcoming comedy series "Weeds" starring Mary Louis Parker. "REEFER MADNESS" is a spoof on the way government and big business use the media to exploit and frighten consumers into certain behaviors. Showtime Networks' in-house creative team, Red Group, created the package.

CIGNA ran an ad in The Wall Street Journal to promote women's heart health in partnership with WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women With Heart Disease. The ad featured a 45-year-old woman, who at 42, underwent coronary bypass surgery. The woman reveals a sternum-length scar. The ad shows that she is also young and not overweight - which goes against the stereotypical profile of a person at risk for heart disease. The ad also ran in the March issue of SmartMoney and is part of a cross-media marketing campaign, The Benefits of Caring, that Dow Jones executed for CIGNA. DDB developed the ad.

In Web site launches this week:

AKQA launched a 12-hour campaign yesterday for palmOne. The "Thanks a Million" promotion gave away a Treo Smartphone every five minutes (that's 144 Treo 650 and Treo 600 smartphones). The campaign ran from noon to midnight EDT and in the first hour there were more than 325,000 entries - by the end there were more than 1.7 million entries. The campaign received some "divine" intervention in driving people to SeeTreo.com. AKQA secured an ad buy on Yahoo! News... and the pope was elected making for extra traffic to the news site. During this 12-hour period, the campaign modified the features of SeeTreo.com, the destination point for the online ads and e-mail marketing efforts.

Real Branding relaunched the Lipton TeaWeb site. The site was designed to deliver easy access to tea information along with deeper research in a fun and simple way. Some features of the new site include a quiz called The Lipton Challenge. I scored 130 out of 150. What country drinks more iced tea -- China or the USA? (The USA) What activity burns more calories per hour: dancing or gardening? (Gardening, to my surprise.) The site also features a product selector that allows you to choose the ideal Lipton product based on taste and temperature preference.

When Agency.com turned 10 back in February, it celebrated by redesigning its Web site. The new site showcases Agency.com's interactive work and the company's history of innovation. The new identity, designed by Pentagram, reflects a focus on disciplined thinking and inspiring work.

O'Brien/Atkins has redesigned its Web site. The company offers architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, master planning, and mechanical services. The Web site's objective is to make the virtual experiences as powerful as the real physical experience they design. Capstrat created the site.