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Out to Launch

Absolut Vodka gets Level. KFC breaks a Hispanic campaign. PGA TOUR jumps on the reality bandwagon. Welcome to highlights of ad campaigns launched recently.

The Absolut Spirits Company, Inc. launched Level Vodka, a super-premium vodka from the makers of ABSOLUT. To support the launch, TV ads debuted Apr. 5 on VH-1, FX, E! Entertainment and SPIKE TV, marking the first time ABSOLUT used TV ads to support its products. The initial television spot, entitled "Balancing Act," will also appear on cable networks such as FOX SPORTS NET, Court TV, Golf Channel and Tennis Channel. The spot begins with a couple enjoying Level martinis in an upscale bar, but once the cocktails are placed on their table, we see that the martinis and the table are off-balance. The camera pans back to reveal that the entire restaurant scene is atop 50-foot poles, which the waiters - doubling as acrobats - begin to slide down. Once on land, a waiter pulls a matchbook from his pocket and slides it under the shoe of another waiter holding a pole. With the matchbook under the shoe, the martini and the table become balanced. The voiceover then says "Introducing Level, the world's first perfectly balanced vodka. One sip, you'll know a new level." Print ads will run in various national daily papers, men's lifestyle and beverage trade magazines including The Wall Street Journal, Details, Golf Magazine, Business Week and Cheers. TBWAChiatDay New York created the campaign.

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I'm sure that golf fans have always wondered, "Which PGA TOUR player loves to surf? And what golfer is known to wield a fly rod when he's not using a five wood?" The answers have haunted me. But no longer. This season, answers to these questions, and many others, will be revealed in a profile series called "In Real Life," airing nationally on CBS Sports and sponsored by JELD-WEN Windows and Doors. "In Real Life" will provide an inside look into the lives of some PGA TOUR players and what they love to do when they are not out hunting for birdies. "In Real Life," will air during major PGA TOUR broadcast events on CBS Sports, April through June. The first vignette is scheduled to air on Apr. 17. PGA TOUR golfers profiled include Steve Elkington, Stewart Cink, Brett Quigley, Bob Burns, Tim Petrovic, Joe Ogilvie and Ben Crane.

Bellissima Campania, also known as Italy's "southern jewel," will run a multi-level ad campaign, including an eight-page section, in the June issue of Smithsonian, to promote tourism to this region of Italy. In conjunction with the campaign, from April 22 through June 19 in Washington, D.C., the Smithsonian Associates will showcase "Bellissima Campania: Italy's Southern Jewel." The program consists of lectures, cooking classes, opera and film that will replicate the region's natural beauty, artistic traditions, distinctive cuisine and archaeological treasures.

To get to Italy... American Airlines launched a campaign to help raise awareness of the marketing applications of AAdvantage miles. The campaign aims to educate consumer marketers on the results that AAdvantage miles can drive and to shift the perception that AAdvantage Marketing programs are strictly for brands in the travel industry. The campaign consists of online and print advertising, email sponsorships and targeted outdoor placements. The creative highlights the consumer behavior that AAdvantage miles drive and demonstrates how marketers can benefit from this. The campaign is running in Advertising Age, Adweek, Brandweek and Promo Magazine and online at Adage.com, Adweek.com, Brandweek.com, and WSJ.com's Media & Marketing Edition. Temerlin McClain, Texas, created the campaign.

DGWB'S Hispanic division, Adelante, was recently named agency of record for all KFC Hispanic advertising. Breaking this week is one of three KFC Hispanic commercials designed by the new agency. The ads will air on Telemundo and Univision. The first spot entitled "Serenade," features a young man and his friends serenading a girl. "Grandma" debuts in May and highlights the matriarch of the family and her favorite grandchild. In June, "I Need More" breaks, featuring a young woman craving variety.

Masterfoods USA, along with Regal Entertainment Theatre Operations and Regal CineMedia, have entered into a multi-year marketing, advertising and distribution agreement to promote snack items including M&Ms, Skittles, Snickers and Starburst in Regional Entertainment Group (REG) theatres nationwide. Select Masterfoods USA brands will be the featured concession candy items for REG's 555 theatres in 39 states. Branding and creative ads for the snackfoods will also be integrated into Regal CineMedia's digital pre-show entertainment program, the 2wenty (the movie ad played before the movie). Additionally, the agreement includes a variety of exclusive on-screen and in-lobby promotional opportunities for the Mars brands in REG theatres nationally.

The Advertising Council and the American Stroke Association have launched public service advertisements (PSAs) to raise awareness of the early symptoms of a stroke and to increase immediate stroke recognition and response. The PSAs are designed to reach both the general public and African-American audience. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in America. GlobalHue developed radio PSAs, pro bono, to highlight the messages of early response to the African-American community. Print ads were created pro bono by Carmichael Lynch, targeting the general public, and feature a photo of a brain with facts about how stroke attacks the brain, indicating that immediate action is critical. The campaign tagline is, "With a Stroke, Time Lost is Brain Lost."

In website launches this week:

23airmail launched a website for Bath Happy. The site allows users to custom create a selection of bath and beauty related products and shop by occasion, recipient, budget or even personality type. The company's products have also been designed to make them memorable and personalized - such as "thank you" gifts for clients.

If this helps... The Psychic of Love website has launched. Described as "a place for people to explore some resources for self-help and growth, and a way to receive some possible insights about romance in your life," the site has sections of love quotes, angel quotes, the top ten love tips and even free love astrology.

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