• by Lindsey Fadner , July 25, 2002

Every week new ad campaigns and websites are launched, and it’s hard to keep up with them all. Just this week, Absolut took its “Absolut Album Covers” effort online, a new public service announcement featuring Bruce Willis and first lady Laura Bush encouraged would-be parents to consider foster kids, and Adelante Hispanic Marketing unveiled a new website showing U.S. companies the keys to capturing the attention of Hispanic customers. Here are some highlights.

Absolut launched an online effort Monday in support of its Absolut Album Covers, a campaign that debuted last fall as a tribute to the golden age of vinyl. The online ads, from the brand's longtime agency TBWAChiatDay in New York, let users flip through vinyl albums like David Bowie's Aladdin Sane and Judas Priest's British Steel. An Absolut bottle is cleverly placed on each featured album cover. The interactive effort targets 21- to 45-year-olds and will run on RollingStone.com, Gay.com, Style.com, Elle.com and MP3.com, among other sites. It aims to drive Web surfers to the "Absolut Album Covers" section of the brand's site. That section, launched in late June by Stockholm shop Springtime, allows users to design their own album covers.

PepsiCo's Aquafina Essentials is rolling out in single-serve 20-ounce plastic bottles. The four SKUs are: B-Power (B3, B6, B12 and Pantothenic Acid in a wild berry essence flavor), Calcium + (calcium and folic acid in a tangerine-pineapple flavor), Daily C (100% vitamin C in a citrus flavor) and Multi-V (vitamins C, E, B3, B6, B12 and Pantothenic Acid in a watermelon flavor). The product is geared toward adults looking for the hydration of water with at least 25% of the recommended daily intake of the vitamins and minerals in each bottle. Marketing support for the product's launch includes online advertising, POP and local sampling efforts. Aquafina Essentials-dedicated TV advertising, per Element 79, Chicago, is scheduled to air later this summer.

Tropicana, on the other hand, is more concerned with kids and their daily vitamins and minerals. That's the premise behind new national TV creative, also via Element 79 Partners, Chicago, that broke this week behind its Tropicana Pure Premium Healthy Kids orange juice, a fortified line that supplies nutrients often missing in kids' diets. Two 15-second spots, "The day" and "Raising children," are an inspirational call to action for parents to raise healthy kids.

A new public service TV spot encouraging would-be parents to consider foster kids when looking to adopt will feature actor Bruce Willis and first lady Laura Bush. The ad was unveiled at the White House this week by President Bush and will run across TV and cable stations nationwide. A new website aimed at matching would-be parents with children nationwide who are available for adoption also was launched. The website, created by the National Adoption Center with funding from the Dept. of Health and Human Services, will feature photographs and profiles of more than 6,500 waiting children from 46 states, as well as a database of approved adoptive families.

Luxury French leather company Lancel this fall will launch a new print campaign to exemplify the new spirit of the brand with images that communicate a fresh style that is friendly, accessible and chic. The effort breaks in August issues of Lucky, then moves on to fashion publications in September. Avrett Free & Ginsberg, New York, handles.

Fruit of the Loom’s back-to-school advertising, per The Richards Group, Dallas, launched this week and star the Fruit Guys, the group of grown men dressed as fruit who have been a staple in the brand’s ads since the ‘70s. The campaign, estimated at $15-20 million, continues the theme line, "Good Days Start with Fruit of the Loom." Four 30-second TV spots will air on network, cable and syndicated programming.

The sexy men’s underwear company 2(x)ist this fall will launch a jeans collection around a new marketing concept called "degree" fit that takes into consideration men’s’ body types as well as their waist size. The jeans will launch at Macy’s East, Macy’s West, Marshall Field’s and Burdine’s in time for holiday delivery. In-store signage and personnel will explain the concept to consumers and guide them to the proper style. Events with magazine partners such as Stuff and Maxim will also support, and ads will launch next spring.

Sound design and music company Endless Noise announced details of their music composition, arranging and production work for the new Nike Golf "Ball Go Far II" series of television and radio spots produced by Wieden + Kennedy Portland. The first of the spots debuted nationally on radio on July 8. Four 30-second TV spots are set to air during sports programming throughout August and are also tied to extensive print advertising and outdoor elements at major golf events, including aerial banners and a 25-foot "Ball Go Far" blimp.

Cyclists seeking donations for the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, a bike-a-thon to raise money for cancer research taking place Aug. 3-4, are getting a boost from a rich media campaign promoting the race's goals. A 20-second spot, created pro bono by Santa Monica interactive shop Whitespeed and delivered in Flash, is being sent via email to 10,000 cyclists and past contributors to the race. The ad opens with piano music and footage of past races interspersed with text on the screen. Lines read, "3600 Riders from 32 States across the nation...Facing almost 200 miles....For a vision of a world without cancer." The campaign also provides a link for viewers to contribute to the PMC's goal of raising $15 million this year.

Washington Mutual, Seattle, broke a new multimedia, multicultural campaign this week to promote its expansion into the New York City area. The campaign, which includes TV, print, radio and outdoor, includes general-market efforts from Interpublic Group of Cos.' Sedgwick Rd., Seattle; Hispanic ads from independent La Agencia de Orci & Asociados, Los Angeles, and Asian efforts from Interpublic's IW Group. This was described as the largest market launch for Washington Mutual, which spent an estimated $65 million in measured media in 2001.

New on the Internet: Adelante Hispanic Marketing, recently unveiled a new website showing U.S. companies the keys to capturing the attention of almost 36 million potential Hispanic customers. The site highlights the unique characteristics of the Hispanic culture, market-growth trends in the U.S., and the enormous purchasing power of the U.S.-Hispanic population over the next 48 years. The agency's "Opportunity" page points out a few of the most important practices advertisers should keep in mind to avoid costly marketing mistakes. It focuses on respectful communication using an approach called "transcreation," which considers the nuances of Hispanic culture rather than simply translating English-language advertising into Spanish.

Last but not least: Chipotle, the gourmet burrito & taco food chain, has progressed the delivery of their intelligent and unconventional humor from print, outdoor and radio into a new realm of movement through Flash animation. The new site incorporates clean white space, no borders and a style of humor that is in-line with their highly successful marketing campaign. The purpose of the new Chipotle Website is to transmit the correct branding message to their current user base to increase content retention, traffic, email subscriptions and feedback.

-- 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.