• by Lindsey Fadner , September 12, 2002

Every week new ad campaigns and websites are launched, and it’s hard to keep up with them all. This week a radio campaign has launched to promote the new entertainment/resort site, DestiNY USA, and some of your favorite athletes can be seen both promoting new brands and speaking out for good causes. Read about these campaigns and others you may have missed in this week’s edition of “Out to Launch.”

DestiNY USA, a multi-experience entertainment/resort site now under construction and scheduled to open in June 2004 in Syracuse, N.Y., has launched a nationwide radio campaign to promote the venue. The campaign, "The Empire State strikes back," began airing this week in 12 markets across the country as the first part of a larger national marketing initiative. Markets playing the 60-second spot, which claims that "Upstate New York will never be the same," include Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, San Jose and Phoenix, as well as several in-state cities. The campaign, which was created in-house, will reach approximately 1.2 million radio listeners.

Internet search engine Yahoo! is preparing to break a TV campaign on Sept. 18 touting its paid services. The effort, via Black Rocket, San Francisco, will consist of six new spots, and while reps for Yahoo! and Black Rocket weren’t leaking many details about the new campaign, the company has registered the phrase "We Yahoo" with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Yahoo's current tag is "Do you Yahoo?"

With a new logo that plays on its war-fighting heritage, Daimler Chrysler AG will launch fresh advertising for its Jeep brand next week. The new Jeep advertising will pitch the brand, made famous by U.S. troops in World War II, as a maker of authentic off-road vehicles driven by thoughtful, patriotic buyers. With a new logo and the revived slogan, "Only in a Jeep," first used in the 1980s, Jeep hopes to double its annual sales from 400,000 to 800,000 in a decade, part of a target set by Chrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche to increase overall sales by 1 million in 10 years.

Honda next week will break three national campaigns for the 2003 Accord targeting African Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanic consumers. The campaigns, which include TV, radio and print, are via La Agencia de Orci & Asociados, Los Angeles (Hispanic market), and Muse Cordero Chen & Partners, Los Angeles (Asian American and African American consumers). The Hispanic TV effort will run on Univision and Telemundo, and both Spanish and English language versions will run on cable networks VH1, Discovery, and MTV. The tag: "When was the last time a car sounded this good to you?" The Asian-American campaign, in Mandarin, Cantonese and Korean, takes a celebratory tone with Asian drummers performing in the desert as the Accord sedan drives past, with a different style of drumming in the Korean version. A voiceover says, "Introducing the all-new Accord. Let the celebration begin." In the African American spot, a young man in an Accord coupe and an attractive woman also in an Accord coupe play cat and mouse through the city streets. Tag: "Redesigned Accord coupe from Honda. The attraction is obvious."

Emmitt Smith will loom larger than life over Texas Stadium, courtesy of JCPenney and its Emmitt-O-Meter (pronounced like speedometer). The Emmitt-O-Meter will boast a 16-foot tall image of Smith, which will rush across a dynamic billboard to countdown the 539 yards needed to meet Walter Payton's all-time NFL rushing record. The billboard is located in a prominent corner within Texas Stadium's campus.

Goodspot Design and Goodspot Editorial announced details of their original broadcast design and animation work for Fox Sports' 2002 NFL on-air promotions graphics package -- as well as their editorial and sound design work on a series of spots promoting Fox's Sep. 8 broadcast of the St. Louis Rams versus the Denver Broncos. The :30, :20 and :10 promos debuted on Fox last week and also serve as templates for future network and affiliate promos. In addition to Maya and AfterEffects, Goodspot’s team also used Avid Media Composer for offline as well as for the final online of the finished spots.

Heinz will build on its successful year-old relationship with Boston Market spokesman Larry Bird when the basketball legend touts the brand's first potpie entries in national TV spots breaking this week. In the two new tongue-in-cheek ads, via DDB, San Francisco, the three-time NBA MVP is shown back on the court, but this time in his own backyard where he attempts to shoot hoops with a younger man. Bird has a hard time keeping up while distracted by mental images of Boston Market's new chicken and turkey potpies. The tag: "Take time out with Boston Market's new pot pies."

Morocco's Olympic champion Nawal el Moutawakel-Bennis is featured in the first international public service announcement promoting peace, tolerance, understanding and hope. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Nawal became the first Moroccan, the first African, the first Arab and the first Muslim woman to win the Olympic Gold Medal. Nawal is President of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. This PSA is a project of the Hollywood 9/11 International Messaging Group, comprised of entertainment industry figures that came together following the events of September 11th. The group's objectives are to communicate to the world our shared values and the commonalities of our cultures. Kathleen Kennedy, partner in The Kennedy/Marshall Company, served as executive producer for the spot, bringing RSA into the project, and oversaw it in close collaboration with that firm's Managing Director, Jules Daly. For more information visit eifoundation.org.

ABC Radio Networks (including ESPN Radio and Radio Disney) in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation, announced that professional tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams will launch a series of seat belt safety public service announcements. This is part of ABC Radio Network's 50-state public service campaign to educate individuals on various aspects of driver safety and follows the earlier effort that focused on Distracted Driving. Because more than 50 percent of ABC Radio Networks' listeners listen to the radio in the car, the Venus and Serena Williams seat belt safety PSA campaign strives to help play a potentially life saving role in reminding parents to properly buckle up their children.

Drug maker Aventis has selected three agencies within WPP Group's Young & Rubicam network to handle an awareness campaign for a condition known as deep-vein thrombosis. Aventis manufactures Lovenox, a drug frequently prescribed to treat deep-vein thrombosis. Y&R Advertising, public relations agency Burson-Marsteller and Mediaedge:CIA, for media buying, all New York, are charged with creating a campaign explaining deep-vein thrombosis, a condition that most often is a blood clot in the deep veins of the leg that may lead to pulmonary embolism. In July the drug maker also launched a website, to disseminate information on the condition.

Myriad Genetics, Inc. initiated an intensive five-month advertising campaign to raise awareness of cancer prevention options among women with a family history of breast cancer or ovarian cancer. The first-of- its-kind campaign will focus on Atlanta and Denver, using television, radio and print media to carry its message of hope and help to those at high risk of cancer. The campaign is designed to alert women with a family history of cancer to recent advances in cancer prevention and early disease detection. Resources and education are available through physicians and from Myriad directly to learn more and take action to "Be Ready Against Cancer." Advertisements are scheduled to run during major television shows, including "ER," "The Practice," "CSI: Miami" (premiere), "Providence," "Oprah," "Regis & Kelli" and "The Today Show." Print media will include regional versions of publications such as Better Homes and Gardens, The Ladies' Home Journal and Women's Health Monitor.

-- 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.