• by Adam Bernard , May 1, 2002

Every week new ad campaigns and websites are launched, and it's hard to keep up with them all. If you missed a few, here are this week's highlights - so eat like Shaq, get rid or SPAM, and get some advice. It's time to go out to Launch!

"Who is the cat that wants sourdough, bacon and all that? Shaq! Can you dig it?" Using a new "Shaft" inspired television commercial, Burger King Corporation is introducing the SHAQ PACK, the first nationally available BURGER KING Value Meal to carry a celebrity's name. The spot pays homage to Isaac Hayes' legendary song, "Theme from Shaft" and features Shaquille O'Neal. The new commercial brings us "the man who can jam over any man... Shaq!" for the launch of his namesake Value Meal. The new 30-second spot begins airing nationally on Sunday, April 28, 2002. In the ad, we see Shaquille dressed in Shaft-inspired gear, stepping onto a street basketball court where everyone stops and takes notice. Shaq drives to the basket and dunks the ball while the crowd looks on in awe. Isaac Hayes declares "Shaq!" Burger King Corporation worked with Len Fink and Amoeba LC agency based in Santa Monica to create and produce the spot, one of nine new spots currently airing produced by Amoeba, Campbell-Mithun, Bromly and Uniworld.

Speaking of fast food joints, KFC has partnered with Hispanic television personality Fernando Arau to launch its first-ever national Spanish-language advertising and community outreach campaign. The campaign is designed to further build a relationship with the rapidly growing Hispanic market and position KFC as an exciting alternative to traditional fast food meals. Two spots, highlighting family togetherness, a cornerstone of the Hispanic culture, were created in Spanish by ¡Adelante! Advertising in Los Angeles. The $5.3 million ad campaign, featuring Arau, will air on Univision and Telemundo networks and their affiliate stations across the U.S. The first spot "Amusement Park" began airing April 29 and run through May 19, and the second spot "Meet the Parents" will begin airing on August 12 and run through September 1. Tag lines for both ads are "Nothing compares to KFC" ("nada se compara con KFC").

The FBI has launched a $1 million multi-media campaign to find a new crop of talent. About half of the budget is going to newspaper and radio ads. The campaign was created in-house. This week, the bureau began running ads on radio stations in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. The spots explain the benefits of joining the FBI, with a voiceover stating, "The FBI. It is like no other career choice you've explored. It's challenging. Compelling. Important. Whatever your background or expertise, you will find an FBI future exceptionally rewarding. Because the work you perform will have a daily impact on the nation's security and the quality of life for all U.S. citizens."

Sound design and music company Endless Noise recently announced details of the company's hybrid "musical sound design" work for the latest U.S. Postal Service spot from Leo Burnett/Chicago. The new :30 TV spot entitled "Dry Cleaner" was directed by Anonymous Content's John Dolan and debuted on Apr. 15. In the spot, a small drycleaning shop experiences a surge of business based on a direct mail campaign. As commerce picks up, the sounds of customers entering combine with hisses of steam, the motor of racks as they spin around, rings from the cash register and other ambient noises, eventually building into a percussive underscore. The voiceover drives the point home: "Target your customers with direct mail and you may actually hear your business growing. Music to your ears, brought to you by the United States Postal Service."

LinuxWizardry Systems, Inc. has launched advertising campaign in 170 newspapers in North America offering a 30-day free trial period for its MailProtek.com service. The MailProtek service will filter out unauthorized emails which clutter up your email box and will protect your computer 24 hours a day from viruses and worms damaging your valuable data. A complete solution has been implemented by MailProtek.com to eliminate email-borne viruses and worms before they attack the user's computer. The service will also include a real-time SPAM filtering system to sort out unauthorized emails, preventing them from reaching the email user's mailbox.

Prince Tennis has selected Southern California-based [formula] PR to roll-out a three-year exposure building campaign designed to launch Prince's new More Performance technology racquets, and to enhance the company's position in the marketplace. PR will provide media relations, assist in the strategic brand development, and create innovative promotional opportunities for Prince with the goal of creating excitement within the trade and consumer media about the Prince brand. Highlights of the plan include a media tour with the management team visiting key tennis markets, guerilla marketing efforts at tennis tournaments and aggressive co-branding program.

In website launches, Yahoo! will be launching a new advice site on Monday night that will pair customers seeking advice with self-described experts. The site, which will be powered by online advice company LiveAdvice, will replace Yahoo's current experts site. Yahoo's new advice site is part of a two-year agreement between Yahoo and LiveAdvice. As part of the agreement, the two companies will share revenue generated by the site. The companies did not disclose any other details or more specific financial terms of the deal.

Lastly, for years, PR and Marketing professionals have talked about the need to measure their results, while doing very little about it. With the launch of measuresofsuccess.com an automated measurement system, they no longer have an excuse. The website's "Dashboard Development" wizard is based on the knowledge and experience of Katie Delahaye Paine who founded The Delahaye Group (now Delahaye Medialink). The "Dashboard Development" model is meant to help organizations identify the key business measures of their success.

This newsletter is compiled weekly by MediaPost staff writer Adam Bernard. Past issues are archived at the MediaPost website. Your comments, questions and submissions are always welcome and appreciated.