Commentary

Out to Launch

Eva Longoria is the latest celeb to promote Los Angeles tourism. Hank Hill loves propane. Comcast Spotlight encourages advertisers to "Be a Holiday Helper." Let's launch!

The Washington State Department of Health has launched a "Gross" campaign (and is it ever) designed to discourage young people (ages 12 to 14) from smoking. Two 30-second TV spots, "Rec Room" and "Park," illustrate the downfalls of kissing a smoker in full gross-out fashion. In "Rec Room," an animated boy and girl are sitting on a couch watching TV. Just as the boy inches closer to make his move, a cat throws up on the floor. The boy gets up, stands over the mess, all the while the young lady is primping herself. When the boy returns, he has the cat's "sloppy seconds" in his mouth; and the ad concludes that, "Kissing a smoker is just as gross." The campaign also includes three radio spots, outdoor and online creative, and a microsite (more on this further in the newsletter). Sedgwick Rd. created the campaign.

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Eva Longoria, star of "Desperate Housewives," is the latest celebrity to lend her likeness to promote tourism to Los Angeles as part of the city's "see my LA" campaign. Her quote, "It doesn't get better than driving down Sunset Boulevard and catching a comedy show like 'Hot Tamales Live,'"refers to the all-female comedy variety show she co-produces at the Comedy Store. The campaign uses print and online advertising worldwide, and local posters at Los Angeles International Airport and select Metro Red Line subway stations. The faces of 50 celebrities, including Diane Keaton, Jamie Lee Curtis, Lionel Richie, Melissa Etheridge, and Nancy O'Dell, have been used to promote Los Angeles as an ideal destination for leisure travel, conventions and meetings. Cimarron Group and Garza Group created the campaign.

Fox is running a psychedelic November sweeps spot for its show "King of the Hill." "I have only had one mistress, and her name is... propane," announces Hank Hill, at the beginning of the thirty-second spot. "Propane" uses the familiar guitar riff of "Cocaine" by J.J. Cale/Eric Clapton, with a raspy voice singing right along with the music: "If you want to cook out/You've got to check it out--propane." Psychedelic neon-colored patterns radiate from the characters--from a barbecuing Hank, worried wife Peggy ("Are you turned on by the propane?" she asks Hank), to sexy neighbor Nancy--as the singer croons, "You must buy/You must buy/You must buy... propane!" Beantown Productions created the campaign.

CNN and Chrysler have signed a multimillion dollar advertising deal consisting of TV, print, online, wireless, podcasting, Video On Demand, broadband and Interactive TV components. The deal makes Chrysler the sole corporate sponsor for the network's coverage of TIME Magazine's 2005 "Person of The Year." CNN will present a one-hour documentary on  the TIME Magazine's choice for the title on Dec. 18, giving Chrysler commercial spots during the broadcast and on sister stations CNN Headline News and the CNN Airport Network. Chrysler will also be the exclusive sponsor of CNN's Interactive Television (ITV) broadcast of "Person of the Year." Beginning Nov. 21, and leading up to the actual selection of the 2005 "Person of the Year," CNN will air two interstitials each week profiling candidates being considered for the distinction--among them, Mother Nature. Profiles of all eight candidates will be available in weekly podcasts that can be downloaded from CNN.com or iTunes.com. The podcasts begin with a five-second sponsorship billboard from Chrysler and end with a 30-second tribute to former "Person of the Year" (1925) Walter P. Chrysler, the company's founder. The On demand programming will feature a 30-second commercial for Chrysler and a bumper stating "This CNN On Demand program is brought to you by Chrysler." The campaign was created in-house.

Comcast Spotlight has launched "Be a Holiday Helper," a campaign targeting potential advertisers. The campaign runs from Nov. 14 to Dec. 31 and offers advertisers an opportunity to be affiliated with various nonprofit organizations including UNICEF, United Way, Salvation Army, Toys for Tots, and Red Cross, to name a few. Charitable messages urge viewers to donate, volunteer and contribute to programs that support our troops and victims of the recent hurricanes. The promotion includes a series of vignettes that advertisers can sponsor using talent (such as Erica Hill from CNN Headline News) from network partners MSNBC, A&E, TWC, CNN Headline News and CNN en Español. A corresponding Web site provides links to partner charitable organizations. Visitors can enter their zip code and be connected with organizations and resources that will help them give back to their local communities. "Holiday Helper" will air in markets including Albuquerque, N.M., Charleston, S.C., Savannah, Ga., Chicago, Dallas, Grand Rapids, Mich., Hartford, Conn. and Jacksonville, Fla..The spot was created in-house.

This week's Web site launches include an agency's redesigned corporate site and a viral game urging youngsters not to smoke.

Seven2 partnered with Sedgwick Rd. to create Ashtraymouth.com, the online component to the Washington State Department of Health's youth anti-smoking campaign. The viral game component invites users to throw as many gross things as possible at a doll's head (dirty sock, fish head, worm, rotten tomato, etc.) Once your ten shots are used, your score is tallied and you then send the challenge to a friend and wait with baited breath until he or she plays the game. Sadly, my challenger, Tyler, narrowly beat me at the Yuck Chuck Challenge by a score of 64 to 51. Although I lost and had a face full of dirty, smelly things, my doll's head stated, "At least I'm not kissing a smoker."

Ripple Effects Interactive has redesigned its corporate Web site. The site provides a more targeted focus on the agency's four primary verticals--travel and tourism, higher education, consumer and lifestyle, and cultural and non-profit. The site showcases Ripple Effects Interactive's past work and case studies for clients in Web site design, rich media and multimedia development and online marketing.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

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