• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, December 13, 2006

Time for a "Bahamavention." Hungry? Have a houseful of gingerbread. More holiday ads. Let's launch!

Which tag line do you prefer: "Purely you" or "The computer is personal again"? The computers behind the tags each launched holiday-themed ads touting their consumer-friendliness. We'll start with Dell. The computer company highlights the ease of customizing a computer for yourself, or a loved one. While the average Joe is out braving the hustle and bustle, Dad reclines in his Barcalounger, picks up the phone and orders a computer, with tons of extras, for his daughter. Watch the ad here.BBDO Atlanta created the campaign and OMD handled the media buy.

Now, let's get personal. Santa Claus, well, more like his belly, makes an appearance in two HP ads. Differing ever so slightly, one ad features Santa describing how he uses his HP laptop to track all the naughty and nice kids, while the other ad promotes a HP desktop and Santa's extracurricular activities. Click here and here to watch the ads. The ads are running through Dec. 18 on CNN, TNT, MTV, VH1, ESPN, BET, SPIKE, and online at NFL.com, Disney, Atomfilms and MTV.com, to name a few. McCann Erickson created the campaign and ZenithOptimedia handled the media buying.

I need a Bahamavention, stat. The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism has launched "Bahamavention," a different execution from its "Escape from everyday life" campaign. TV, print, outdoor and online ads launched Monday, with TV spots featuring concerned friends and family members organizing a Bahamavention for a loved one. If you've ever watched the A&E series "Intervention," you'll see that the ads play out much like the too-real TV show. "Maureen" features a childless woman taking her aggression out on a kids' soccer coach. Watch the ad here. "Lyle" constantly yells and doesn't know his child's name. His family intervenes. Watch it here. "Monte" is my favorite. The man that never smiles suddenly becomes giddy and squeals, "I want sand between my toes." Click here to watch. "Malcolm" is too pale. His family introduces him to the sun. Watch it here. Creative encourages viewers to call 1-800-BAHAMAS or visit Bahamavention.com to see if they need a Bahamavention. Users can order a fulfillment kit that includes "Bahamavention and You," a tri-fold pamphlet with instructions on how to perform a Bahamaventionon a loved one and a DVD of six music tracks, such as "Take 700 Islands and Call Me in the Morning" and "Sax on the Beach." Attention, insomniacs: a 30-minute spoof infomercial will be running late at night, targeting you! Fallon Minneapolis created the campaign and handled the print, online and outdoor buying, Starlink handled the media buy for the 4 TV spots and Halogen handled the infomercial buy.

Stowe Mountain Resort is waxing philosophical in a print campaign that launched last month and will run throughout the ski season. The branding campaign aims to re-establish Stowe as a top East Coast skiing destination. Ads are running in Ski Magazine, Skiing Magazine, Powder and Transworld Snowboarding. One ad describes how 6 minutes of skiing might not be a long time, but it's time where you don't have to "watch carbs, clean out the lint tray, or endure more coverage of celebrity babies and their ridiculous names." They're talking to you, Apple Martin. My favorite ad compares a "perfect line" to Lombard Street in San Francisco. Right on. Click here, here and here to view the ads. Kelliher Samets Volk handled all aspects of the campaign.

Cloudveil Mountain Works, a sporting apparel brand, launched two print ads this month, with a third debuting in the spring, highlighting mischievous mountain activities such as avalauncher skeet shooting and vertical twister. "Avalauncher Skeet Shooting" and "Dirt Bag Ski Lunch" are running in Skiing and climbing magazines such as Alpinist, Backcountry, Climbing, Freeskier, Mountain Gazette, Off Piste, Powder and Wend. "Twister" launches in the spring. Click here, here and here to view the ads. TDA Advertising & Design created the campaign and Backbone Media handled the media buy.

How much am I craving gingerbread right now? Bloom, a year-old supermarket, turned an abandoned house into a full-scale gingerbread house, complete with live gingerbread men (but they only appear on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.) The house serves as a Christmas promotion for Bloom's Greenville, S.C. supermarket and is supported by print, radio and outdoor ads. A crew from BooneOakley, the agency behind the campaign, re-sided the walls with vinyl-covered bubblewrap, and decorated the roof and yard with styrofoam icing and candy. A 25-foot candy cane (white paint and red ribbon) can be found near a "Happier Holidays" Bloom billboard on Highway 81. Ingenuity handled the media buy. Click here, here, here, here and here to view the gingerbread house and ads.

I love it when TBS plays "A Christmas Story" all Christmas day. I didn't love it when Cingular attempted to pay homage to the movie with an ad promoting its Go Phone. It'd be a different story if the ad moved as flawlessly as the Deutsch-created DirecTV ads featuring Ben Stein, Mini Me from Austin Powers and Peyton Manning, to name a few. The Cingular ad reenacts scenes from the movie and Ralphie states his case for wanting a cell phone, which is at least more parent-friendly than the Red Rider BB Gun. Watch the ad here.BBDO New York and BBDO Atlanta created the campaign and Mediaedge:cia handled the media buying.

This ad made its debut over the summer and I still enjoy seeing it. "Battle" promotes Go Phone from Cingular Wireless and puts a spin on a typical scenario between a mother and her teenage daughter. Mom and daughter are seen shouting at one another but hurling compliments rather than insults. Go Phone is marketed as inexpensive (score one for the parents) yet stylish (yeah for the teen). No more squabbles. Click here to watch "Battle."BBDO New York and BBDO Atlanta created the campaign and Mediaedge:cia handled the media buy.