• 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. Just this week General Electric Co. launched “Imagination at work,” Dr. Pepper debuted new spots in its “Be You” campaign, and Daimler Chrysler announced details for its latest “drive & love” commercials.

General Electric Co. this week introduced a new ad campaign replacing the almost 25-year-old slogan: "we bring good things to life." On Sunday, BBDO Worldwide, the General Electric agency and a unit of Omnicom Group, introduced the theme "Imagination at work," which presents humorous examples of the consequences of imagination. The campaign will be supported with more than $100 million worth of television, print and online advertising (this year alone), and focuses on the company's medical technology, robotics, media and financial services. The initial commercials aired during the NBC presentation of the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday.

Cadbury Schweppes' Dr Pepper recently launched new commercials in its "Be You" advertising campaign per Young & Rubicam, New York. The ads feature contemporary musicians who sing about (and with) their musical inspirations. One ad features a memorial to rapper Jam Master Jay, who was killed on October 30th, 2002 in his New York recording studio. The commercial, also featuring LL Cool J, was made 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 commercial lyrics. 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, announced a light-hearted, new ad campaign for Dentyne Ice. The commercial, entitled "Subway," made its national television debut on January 20. The innovative campaign communicates how its icy, cold, fresh taste and long- lasting flavor enables consumers to make romantic connections in clever, new ways. 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 announces, "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." The 30-second spot, developed by Bates Worldwide, is scheduled to air tonight during the highly rated reality dating show, "The Bachelorette," as well as during popular sitcoms such as "Just Shoot Me" and "Good Morning Miami."

Pop diva Celine Dion is trying to convince people to fall in love with the Chrysler brand from DaimlerChrysler AG. Chrysler's new brand slogan, "Drive & Love," is based on the idea that the cars are so great to drive and so beautifully designed that they inspire passion. The new slogan, which has only changed slightly from last year's tag line "Drive=Love," debuted Sunday on leading U.S. television networks. The black-and-white TV ads, via BBDO Detroit, are aimed at moving Chrysler's brand image more upscale and not at just selling cars. Rather than fighting the "soccer mom" image associated with minivans, Chrysler 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 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 of Johnson with such text as, "Staying healthy is about a few basic things: A positive attitude, partnering with my doctor and taking my medicine every day." Arnold Worldwide, Boston, handled the advertising.

International campaign launches:

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.

Meanwhile, 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 an attractive young woman walking over an air vent that causes her dress to fly up, 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 recently announced the delivery "D-Theater" to Artisan Home Entertainment. The 1080i high- definition, 5.1 Dolby "E" encoded promotional piece will greet viewers of the first nine Artisan's domestic D-VHS (or Digital-VHS) releases (including Terminator 2, Basic Instinct, Van Wilder and More) with a 2.5-minute promotional piece. The piece isolates famous moments from each of the featured films and uses contrasts in presenting a visual tapestry that subtly pulls viewers into the films' more explosive moments. The audio spectrum uses elements from each motion picture's original 5.1 mix, at times using as many as 20 tracks to create the multi-textured, room-filling sound. D-VHS is being billed as "the format HDTV has awaited."

AGENCY.COM Ltd. this week announced the launch of a special website promoting The Make A Wish Foundation of North Texas’ annual gala, the 2003 Wish Night. AGENCY.COM built the Wish Night website 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 enable 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 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 vegasfreedom.com and a business site at lvcva.com, the overarching message portrays 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 has joined forces with Genex, one of LA’s largest Internet consulting and development firms, to develop 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 daredevilmovie.com. After establishing its entertainment division roughly a year ago, Genex has steadily built a reputation as a major player in Hollywood, creating immersive and experiential websites 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.