• by Lindsey Fadner , January 21, 2003

Every week new ad campaigns and websites are launched, and it’s hard to keep up with them all. Over the weekend General Electric Co. launched “Imagination at work,” Dr. Pepper debuted new commercials in its “Be You” campaign featuring LL Cool J paying tribute to the late Jam Master Jay, and Daimler Chrysler is hoping Celine Dion can convince more people to “drive & love” one of its Chrystler brands. Read about these campaigns and others you may have missed in this week’s edition of “Out to Launch.”

General Electric Co. this weekend introduced a new ad campaign replacing the global conglomerate's almost 25-year-old slogan that it can "bring good things to life." On Sunday, BBDO Worldwide, the General Electric agency and a unit of Omnicom Group, will introduce the theme "Imagination at work," the newspaper said, which will present offbeat examples of imagination's aftermath. The goal of the aggressive overhaul, to be supported this year with more than $100 million worth of television, print and online advertising, is to play up the conglomerate's efforts in realms such as medical technology, robotics, media and financial services, according to the report. The change is also intended to reflect a new emphasis on research and big long-term ideas. The initial commercials started appearing during the NBC presentation of the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday.

Cadbury Schweppes' Dr Pepper recently launched a new commercial in its "Be You" advertising campaign (per Young & Rubicam, New York) that features a memorial to rapper Jam Master Jay, who was killed on October 30th, 2002 in his New York recording studio. The late rapper will appear in upcoming ads for Dr. Pepper. The commercials, also featuring LL Cool J, were shot last fall when Run DMC was on tour. Run DMC is widely credited as the architects of the mainstream hip-hop music revolution, and Jam Master Jay is specifically mentioned in the Dr Pepper commercial lyrics. The ads feature contemporary musicians who sing about -- and with -- their musical inspirations. In addition to LL Cool J, pop singer Anastacia honors Cindi Lauper, and Paulina Rubio pays homage to Cuban salsa sensation Celia Cruz. The 30-second commercials first aired Jan. 19 during the National Football League's conference championships.

Adams, a division of Pfizer, today announced a light-hearted, new ad campaign for Dentyne Ice. The commercial, entitled "Subway," will make its national television debut on January 20. Dentyne Ice established the intense gum category and has now created an innovative campaign to communicate how its icy, cold, fresh taste and long- lasting flavor enables consumers to make romantic connections in clever, new ways. The 30-second spot, developed by Bates Worldwide, will air during the highly rated reality-based dating show, "Bachelorette," as well as during popular sitcoms such as "Just Shoot Me" and "Good Morning Miami." One spot opens with a striking young woman briskly walking through a crowd to catch a train as she accidentally bumps into an attractive guy. Chemistry between the two is immediate, and their eyes lock as the train doors close. As the train departs, the young woman takes out Dentyne Ice, frosts up the subway car window with her icy fresh breath, and writes her phone number on the frosted glass. The voiceover intones, "Dentyne Ice. Intensely cold for icy fresh breath that lasts and lasts." While viewers wonder how and when the two ever connect, the commercial closes with the tagline, "Dentyne Ice. Nothing's colder than ice."

Pop diva Celine Dion is trying to convince people to fall in love with the Chrysler brand from DaimlerChrysler AG. The idea that the cars are so great to drive and so beautifully designed that they inspire passion is behind Chrysler's new brand slogan "Drive & Love," which has changed slightly from last year's tag line "Drive=Love." Buzz words like passion, romance and emotion are featured in the new advertising campaign, which debuted Sunday on leading U.S. television networks. "Drop-dead gorgeous cars, that's what this is about," Bill Morden, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BBDO Detroit, the ad agency that created the new campaign, told a news conference on Wednesday. The black-and-white TV ads featuring Dion -- which company spokesmen say are aimed at moving Chrysler's brand image more upscale and not at just selling cars -- are for Chrysler's new Pacifica station wagon and Crossfire sports coupe. But the ads also promote the popular Town & Country minivan, the Sebring Convertible and PT Cruiser. Rather than fighting the "soccer mom" image associated with minivans, Chrysler -- which has long dominated the segment -- embraces it by showing the Town & Country with images of Dion with her young son, Rene Charles. The songs that Dion belts out for the ads are plucked from her current and forthcoming albums and include a single aptly entitled "I Drove All Night" that makes its commercial radio debut this month.

Magic Johnson is the star of a new national ad campaign targeting black men from GlaxoSmithKline, which produces Combivir, the most commonly prescribed HIV drug and one of GlaxoSmithKline's top sellers. The effort has just broken in cities with the highest rates of HIV/AIDS infection among blacks, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, Atlanta, Newark, N.J. and Washington, D.C. The ads include photos Johnson with such text as, "Staying healthy is about a few basic things: A positive attitude, partnering with my doctor, taking my medicine every day." Spend was not given. Arnold Worldwide, Boston, handled the advertising.

Leo Burnett/Bangkok created a TV spot to promote Johnnie Walker One, a locally developed, ready-to-drink mixed scotch bearing the famous whisky brand. Johnnie Walker One is geared toward a special segment of "quick visit" consumers who patronize pubs, but do not stay long enough to warrant the purchase of a bottle of undiluted scotch. Thailand is the world's third largest market for Johnnie Walker products after the U.S.A. and Brazil.

Leo Burnett/Singapore created a campaign for Fruit Tree Juice Drink consisting of two quirky TV spots that leverage the brand’s tagline, "In Good Taste." One spot features a foxy lady walking over an air vent, causing her dress to fly up and reveal her legs, a la Marilyn Monroe. Later, an elderly woman walks over the same vent, but this time a can of Fruit Tree Juice is strategically placed in the frame to block audience exposure to her unseemly predicament. In the first half of 2002, the Fruit Tree brand was extended beyond the breakfast juice market and into the ready-to-drink market, where it currently holds six percent market share.

Creative studio GOODSPOT last week announced the delivery of a 1080i high- definition, 5.1 Dolby "E" encoded promotional piece entitled "D-Theater" to Artisan Home Entertainment that will greet viewers of all of Artisan's initial domestic D-VHS (or Digital-VHS) releases. The 2.5-minute piece will appear on the first nine Artisan D-VHS Titles, including Terminator 2, Basic Instinct, Van Wilder and More. D-VHS is being billed as "the format HDTV has awaited." It's the only medium and format currently capable of recording digital content of all Advanced Television Systems Committee broadcast standards in the US, from standard-definition to HD. In his edit, Luis Martos used his experience cutting movie trailers to isolate famous moments from each of the featured films and to use contrasts in presenting a visual tapestry that subtly pulls viewers into the films' more explosive moments. Another palette for Martos on the project was the audio spectrum. Using elements from each motion picture's original 5.1 mix, he crafted the presentation's sound design... at times using as many as 20 tracks to create the multi-textured, room-filling sound. Martos created his complete offline on AVID, then went to Complete Post to finish the picture in discreet fire and to mix the final audio in Complete Post's 5.1 digital mixing studio. There, re-recording mixer Pedro Jimenez (who most recently provided the TV trailer mixes for Spider-Man, XXX and Men In Black II) worked with Martos to tweak the sound, prepare the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix and then to encode it as a Dolby E data stream, which was printed digitally to the final conformed master.

AGENCY.COM Ltd., a leading interactive marketing and technology agency, announced today the launch of a special Web site promoting The Make A Wish Foundation of North Texas’ annual gala, the 2003 Wish Night. This marks the third year in which the Dallas office of AGENCY.COM returns as a special Wish Night co-sponsor, donating its interactive expertise and services to build the site. Wish Night is the foundation’s gala dinner and most prominent fundraising affair and this year’s event will be held on May 10. AGENCY.COM built the Wish Night Web site (www.wishnight.org) to help build enthusiasm for the event online. The site reflects this year’s theme, “Rio De Wishes,” capturing the lively spirit, vibrant colors and exotic music of Rio de Janeiro at Carnaval through a flash introduction. The main purpose of the site is to provide comprehensive information about the Wish Night gala and includes the ability for Wish Night guests to reserve their tickets online. The site also offers volunteer registration and contribution forms and new functionality this year includes the “Invite A Friend” feature.

More website launches: Critical Mass, acclaimed developer of highly sophisticated Web sites and a leader in customer experience management, this week announced (with marketing communications firm R&R Partners) the launch of two new sites for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau. With a consumer site at www.vegasfreedom.com and a business site at www.lvcva.com, the overarching message conveys Las Vegas as the premier leisure destination in the world. The sites represent an aggressive online marketing presence that complements the city's 2003 ad campaign, the "Vegas Stories," The new LVCVA consumer site uses interactive features powered by Flash technology to intrigue, entertain and entice the leisure traveler to move around the site and sample its wares. Visitors will find extensive information with statistics and links presented with imaginative animation and audio tools that help them plan their trip while getting a taste of the Las Vegas experience.

Lastly in online news: Fox and Genex have joined forces on the. Genex, one of LA’s largest Internet consulting and development firms, developed the online presence for what will be one of 20th Century Fox's biggest Winter releases. Daredevil, which stars Ben Affleck and Colin Farrell now makes its home at www.daredevilmovie.com After establishing its entertainment division roughly a year ago, Genex (www.genex.com) has steadily built a reputation as a major player in Hollywood, creating immersive and experiential Web sites for blockbuster films from six of seven of LA's major studios. Yet each site remains an on-point, online extension of the franchise. Film release date is February 14, 2003. Sneak previews and trailers are showing online now.

-- 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.