Commentary

Out to Launch

Magazine trade campaigns. Aflac duck gets a larger speaking role. The Philadelphia Phillies show the hidden perks of baseball games. Let's Launch!

Chipotle Mexican Grill (the majority owned by McDonald's) has launched three 15-second TV spots on PBS to run before and after the weekly PBS cooking program, "The Minimalist," of which Chipotle is a corporate sponsor. In "telethon" a white-haired host announces Chipotle's sponsorship then strolls over to where operators are standing by for pledge calls. Except the ringing phone lines go unanswered, as the operators chow down on Chipotle burritos. In "the news" a voiceover announces, "the preceding program made possible by Chipotle Mexican Grill," and we cut to a world news anchor. As she reads, she drifts out of the camera's view. A pullback reveals the cameraman is eating a burrito. "Sign language" shows a Masterpiece Theater-type gent in a fireside armchair, reciting over classical music, "Good evening, Tonight's program was made possible by Chipotle Mexican Grill, purveyors of fine burritos and tacos." In the screen's lower right, an interpreter translates into sign language, while eating a burrito. She decides it's too much trouble to sign and eat at the same time. TDA Advertising & Design created the campaign.

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The Monaco Government Tourist Office launched a tourism campaign and auction, and for the first time in 10 years, the creative does not include photography. At MonacoAuction.com, vacationers can bid, eBay-style, on a changing selection of Monaco vacation options, from a membership to Club Diamant Rouge which offers free helicopter transport, airport to hotel, to Gran Prix racing tickets, to a seven-day stay aboard a luxury yacht. Ads are running in Food & Wine, The New Yorker, Town & Country, Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Departures, Town & Country Travel, The New York Times Magazine, Forbes, and Forbes FYI.Green Team, New York created the campaign.

Health magazine debuted a new look in its May issue. To get readers and advertisers to notice, they're laying on the compliments. Heavily. The magazine launched a promotional campaign, "Compliments," to drive home the benefit of reading Health magazine. The magazine's new tag line is: "Health...looks good on you." Created by Inkwell, the campaign will include ads in trade publications and Web sites, along with the use of street marketing. Examples of the copy include: "Hubba Hubba!" Sometimes it's hard for people to describe how great they feel when they start taking better care of themselves. However others often have no problem commenting on the situation. And "Did You Just Get Back From Vacation?" No question taking better care of yourself can give you that undeniable healthy glow.

Better Homes and Gardens launched a trade and marketing campaign using the theme "What Really Matters," designed to embody the important connection and the relationships between the people, places, and activities in their lives. The campaign, developed by the Sullivan Group, is comprised of print and online trade advertising, a nationwide series of agency events and presentations, and Web-based "recreations" of agency professional's responses to face-to-face interviews on "What Really Matters" in their lives. The trade and marketing effort was based on interviews with more than 100 media professionals at various agencies. During the interviews, each media professional was photographed for a "What Really Matters" agency book and Web site, which will be presented at agency events in cities such as New York, Chicago, and Detroit.

CFO magazine launched its first integrated ad campaign on May 2 that emphasizes what makes CFOs so critical -- their role as key decision makers. The print and online campaign uses the tag line "It doesn't happen until our readers say yes," and reinforces the idea that to move the most important decision makers, you need to use CFO magazine and CFO.com. Advertising headlines include: "Some readers influence important decisions. Ours make them"; "You can reach readers with access to the corner office or you can go there yourself"; and "Advertising 101: It's not how many people you impress -- it's which ones." FarnumMorales created the campaign. The campaign is directed to media-agency personnel and advertising clients, and will run in select trade publications.

The Philadelphia Phillies launched a campaign that shows your average ordinary baseball game is much more than a mere sporting event (read: baseball games can spice up your love life. I did buy the Pedro pack this season...). No agency was used, but Kelly Simmons, Philadelphia served as creative consultant. Three 30-second spots include an ad where Billy Wagner throws strike three but it's two fans that end up scoring. Another ad shows a Jim Thome home run driving in a much needed nose job. The ends conclude with the tag line: "You + The Phillies. Good Times." The ads launched late April on broadcast and cable in the Philadelphia DMA.

DIY Network is launching its first national print campaign this month. The campaign will increase awareness of the network in the high growth area of digital cable. The campaign will also drive potential viewers to DIYnetwork.com to determine if they receive the network and, if not, how to order it. Each execution of the print campaign targets one of the network's major areas of programming concentration (Home Improvement, Gardening, Woodworking, Auto, and Crafts). The spreads include a full-page ad that captures a do-it-yourselfer engrossed in a project and a one-third page strip that appears opposite the full-page ad and advertises one of DIY's five annual sweepstakes. "Home Improvement" features a man painting the outside of his Victorian style home, with the headline, "This is my masterpiece. This is my network." The ad will appear in Better Homes and Gardens, Cottage Living, Family Handyman, Handy, Midwest Living, Southern Living and This Old House.Doner Detroit created the campaign.

TM Advertising launched a campaign promoting Verizon SuperPages.com, a local search resource. Themed "we know around here," the campaign touts SuperPages.com as the online search resource "in the know" about all things local. The campaign targets people aged 18 to 45 and consists of radio, online, and outdoor components. One rich media ad features rising water and copy lines that change as the water gets higher. The ad reads, "We know a good plumber around here." "And a good insurance agency around here." "And a good scuba instructor around here." The ads will run on HomeandGarden.com, Living.com and MSN.com. Another ad on a fantasy sports site says, "We know a great marriage counselor around here." This ad will run on ESPN.com. Ads are also running on Discovery.com, Homestore, Scripps Network, ValueClick, and Weather.com. Radio spots launched on April 18 in New York City. Outdoor ads debut this summer.

The Aflac Duck gets a bigger speaking role thanks to Melania Trump. The mad scientist-inspired television ad titled "Experiment" debuted nationwide on May 2 during network primetime and on various cable channels. The new spot is the third installment in a new series of Aflac television ads created to educate consumers on the specific benefits of Aflac insurance. Developed by the Kaplan Thaler Group, "Experiment" showcases the duck outside its typical one-word role. Trump's appearance in ad marks her first major role (and I'm sure it won't be her last) in a national television commercial in the United States.

A52 lent a visual effects and design work hand for Nationwide Insurance's latest broadcast campaign created by TM Advertising. "Science Project" features a young boy showing his homemade robot to his parents, when suddenly the contraption goes haywire. Three more spots created for the campaign are "Ceiling Fan," "Draft Day," and "Hammer."


Draft London created a direct mail campaign to build anticipation for the launch of Vauxhall's new Astra Sport Hatch. The pre-launch campaign targeted a primarily male audience in their late 20s and early 30s. The DM creative launched along with online ads, also created by Draft. As with the online work, the DM execution highlights individual features of the car's exterior - such as its panoramic windscreen, or its wheel arches.

Global Advertising Strategies created an ad campaign for Primus Wireless that introduces a more convenient and cheaper international calling plan to various ethnic markets, including Russian Americans. Primus Wireless allows U.S. consumers to place direct international calls on their cell phones at prices averaging 50 percent less than rates charged by major U.S. wireless providers. Primus is integrating convenience with cost effectiveness - an ideal mix for ethnic and mainstream U.S. consumers. Global will also provide marketing and consulting services for Primus. Primus is targeting a multicultural audience for this campaign after conducting research that found multicultural consumers are the most active international dialers. No big surprise there.

In Web site launches this week:

AKQA has created a pro bono campaign for Break the Cycle. The campaign targets females aged 12 to 22 and includes e-mail marketing and banner ads. One ad includes the message "He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me..." repeatedly until the user rolls over the banner, hence, breaking the cycle. Ads are running on About.com, Friendster, Oprah.com, and BET, among others. All ads drive traffic to the Break the Cycle Web site.

Jim Ellis Automotive Dealerships launched a new Web site created by Spunlogic. The site features a flash-based real-time inventory tool to help users determine what type of automobile would be best for them. Spunlogic performed research to determine the factors that influence car buyers to take action. After implementing an online survey on the Jim Ellis site, Spunlogic found that more than one third of their users were still in the browsing stage of the buying process. Based on this discovery, Spunlogic created an application that allows users to browse Jim Ellis' entire inventory online using a single screen. Users can choose different years, makes, and models; as well as price, type of vehicle, and engine specifications to display inventory that meet their needs.

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