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

Major League Baseball warns kids about steroid use. VW Jetta runs with the bulls. Under Armour launches a MicroMovie during the ESPY Awards. Let's launch!

What better time to launch this PSA. Major League Baseball and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America have launched a campaign to educate America's youth and their parents about the dangers of steroids and performance-enhancing substances. The campaign launched during the All-Star Game last Wednesday. "Statue" uses the image of a classic Roman athlete to illustrate the health dangers of using performance-enhancing substances. Over the course of the spot, the body of the Roman athlete slowly deteriorates as a voice-over explains the harmful risks posed by steroids. The ad will be distributed to all MLB teams to run during local game broadcasts as well as in-stadium. The campaign was created by BBDO New York.

With summer in full blast (along with the not so welcome humidity) Tim Hortons has launched a 12-week campaign utilizing the tag line "Nothing chills like it." One 30-second TV spot features a man lying on the sand, enjoying his iced cappuccino. When the camera pans back, it reveals that he's lying in a golf course sand trap. The other TV spot shows a woman lounging in the grass, also enjoying an iced cappuccino. The camera reveals she is lying on a piece of sod at a garden center. In-store point-of-purchase and outdoor ads show actual iced cappuccino products relaxing in a hammock and on a beach chair. Enterprise Advertising of Toronto created the U.S. campaign. French TV creative was developed by Enterprise/JWT Montreal. Media buying and planning for the campaign was handled by Excelerator Media.

In another attempt to beat the heat, Ambient Planet and Vaseline Intensive Care have teamed up to cool down beachgoers this season. The Vaseline Intensive Care: Aloe Cool and Fresh Tour will be rejuvenating sun worshippers with a tranquil "Zone," which includes wet sampling, misting fans, cushioned seating, aloe plants, and 0.25oz samples of Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion. The tour launched July 2nd and ends September 18th. Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion is also sponsoring five AVP (Association of Volleyball Players) tournaments and eight ESA (Eastern Surfing Association) tournaments featuring "Aloe Cool and Fresh" zones.

Sony Technology Center is looking for some seasonal (September-December) help. Its campaign shows that things could be worse when it comes to your choice of jobs. Three TV spots and three print ads highlight "really bad jobs" (ball retriever at a driving range, restaurant mascot dressed as a Lobster, highway brush cutter) and offer an alternative: building Sony flat-screen TVs. I always thought driving the caged-in car that picks up golf balls at a driving range looked fun. OK, not fun, but an experience. The campaign targets 18- to 34-year-olds, especially new high school grads, seasonal workers, stay-at-home moms, and the unemployed. The campaign is running on USA, TNT, CNN, ESPN, TBS, and TLC throughout the Pittsburgh area. Ten United created the campaign.

Hispanic agency COD has added some "Bull" to the Volkswagen Jetta campaign. The spot launched in the United States last week on major Spanish-language television outlets, including network and cable TV. "Bull" opens on a driver who has just parked his Jetta and is getting ready to participate in the "running of the bulls" celebration. His back is turned, so he doesn't realize that a bull is charging towards him and his Jetta. The bull smashes into the Jetta while the driver remains oblivious to what has happened. The spot closes on the groggy bull as it tries to recover from the collision.

Under Armour Performance Apparel launched the third installment of its "Protect This House" advertising campaign, during the 2005 ESPY Awards on Sunday. The third chapter of the "Protect This House" trilogy will continue airing throughout the 2005-06 collegiate and NFL football season, and will serve as a teaser for the company's entrance into the football cleat market, expected to be officially unveiled in 2006."Protect This House 3" features the campaign's star, Dallas Cowboy Eric Ogbogu and fellow NFL players Julius Jones, Jonathon Vilma, and David Pollack. The spot looks at the playing days of Ogbogu's "Big E" character, from childhood through college and to his present-day role leading Team Under Armour in its battle against Team Goliath. At the conclusion of the 90-second commercial, the words "Click-Clack," the sound of cleats hitting the pavement, and the silhouette of a shoe allude to Under Armour's entrance into the football cleat market. The campaign was created in-house.

Warning: There are a lot of Ms in this campaign. Morsekode created a campaign for Moog Music's Moogerfooger effects pedals. "Beyond Words" is currently running in Guitar Player Magazine and is slated to run in Guitar World magazine beginning in September. The print campaign spawned a point of purchase campaign called the Moogerfooger Challenge. The Moogerfooger Challenge states that if you try a Moogerfooger and are not completely satisfied with the product Moog Music will give you a free "I'm and idiot" t-shirt. The t-shirts are also available for purchase online, if the mood strikes you.

The California Lottery has launched a colossal campaign for its new MEGA Millions game. "Impact" opens at an outdoor wedding. As the bride and groom are about to exchange vows, something casts an enormous shadow over the guests. The 30-second spot cuts to a man running down the street exclaiming, "It's huge! Let's get a little closer," as the object begins to land. An aerial view from airplane shows that the gigantic object is a "Mega Millions" lottery ticket, which blankets an entire block. A homeowner emerges from beneath the ticket and asks, "Does this mean that I won?" The spot concludes with the tag line "It's Mega Big." BBDO West created the campaign.

MSO Charter Communications is promoting its telephone service through laughter. A series of 30-second ads center around one man's infectious laugh. Upon realizing that he can pocket his phone bill savings, the man literally laughs all the way to the bank. In other words, switch to Charter Telephone for your own dose of the giggles. This series of ads is running along with an intro spot, "Hello" in Charter's newest markets as they roll out telephone service. Concrete Pictures created the campaign.

On to the Web site launches.

MaxMedia Design launched POWERade's "KING JAMES: Starring LeBron James" last month. This is the second comic in the series, "The King of Basketball." Each POWERADE online comic translates still comic book pages into animated Flash pages that use LeBron's voice and audio clips to create a dramatic, serialized story that will unfold throughout the year.

Looking for a quick weekend getaway? Check out BooktheJerseyShore.com. The site includes: a property search function allowing visitors to select location, date, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and bay or ocean locale; an interactive quiz to help vacationers determine which destination is best suited to their preferences; virtual tours - exterior and interior - of beach properties; and an overview of each shore town.