Commentary

Out To Launch!

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 - Spiderman, Sierra Mist, and a cow singing Devo. Intrigued? Let do Launch!

Gateway, Inc. Chairman and CEO Ted Waitt and his talking Holstein cow make two important points in a new TV spot debuting Saturday night: Gateway has the best value in a PC optimized for digital music, and the duo knows the words to Devo's 1981 hit “Whip It.” Reminiscent of a music video, the latest in a series of road-inspired Gateway TV spots begins with Ted and the cow driving down a desert highway in an 18-wheeler -- the cow rides shotgun. The cow produces a homemade mix CD (“Cow Mix”) which Ted slides into the stereo, and the road trip partners sing along with Devo's new wave standard as text on the Gateway 500X music PC flashes on the screen. The campaign was created by Gateway's advertising agency, Siltanen/Keehn of El Segundo, Calif.

advertisement

advertisement

Spiderman will soon be coming to a cell phone near you. Cingular Wireless launched a fully integrated marketing campaign based around Columbia Pictures' highly anticipated action adventure film, Spider-Man, scheduled for release worldwide on May 3. Fans of the webslinger will be able to buy Sony Ericsson T60 series handsets and limited-edition Spider-Man faceplates. Cingular is also offering exclusive Spider-Man ringtones, alerts and trivia games to celebrate the comic book hero's jump to the big screen. The campaign -- supported by TV, print and radio advertising, direct mail, and in-store placement -- is the most ambitious ever for a wireless carrier in conjunction with a Hollywood movie. Cingular developed the campaign with Sony Entertainment.

Sierra Mist is kicking off its largest-ever in-store consumer promotion in connection with its sponsorship of CBS's famed Survivor series. The adventure-themed promotion, “Survive with Sierra Mist,” is available on specially marked Sierra Mist packages and offers consumers a chance to win fabulous prizes, including a trip to Islands of Marquesas. Sierra Mist is also offering web surfers an opportunity to participate in a “watch and win” online sweepstakes tied to Sierra Mist's new 60-second TV spot, “Bronze Man,” which breaks today during Survivor: Marquesas. The new spot features a Bronze Age caveman fossil being revived after thousands of years. Comparing the caveman's invigorating experience to the shockingly refreshing taste of Sierra Mist, a voiceover notes, “Yeah, it's kinda like that.” Pepsi's longtime advertising partner BBDO-New York created the new commercial.

Making progress every day is the theme of a new corporate brand advertising campaign that reinforces Verizon's commitment to its customers, shareowners and the communities it serves. The message of progress launched this week in television advertising in nine major markets across the country. Lowe New York, a division of The Interpublic Group of Companies, produced the corporate brand campaign. The TV campaign will include a 60-second commercial that will serve as an umbrella spot and set the stage for two additional 30-second spots. The three spots will be rotated over the course of the next several weeks. A second phase of the branding campaign will focus on how the company's products and services help customers “make progress every day.”

The Game Show Network is encouraging audience participation with a consumer marketing campaign coinsiding with the launch of the network's new original series “Whammy! -- The All New Press Your Luck,” which premieres on April 15. The channel is also promoting its “Big Bucks and More Big Bucks” sweepstakes which is designed to get audiences excited about the launch of “Whammy!...” and to encourage them to particiapte in the sweepstakes. On-air promo spots will run through the April 20.

Ralph Lauren Romance and Ralph Lauren Romance Men are introducing a new ad campaign in mid-April. The new Ralph Lauren Romance campaign will consist of print, radio and TV ads that will be introduced in May issues of magazines including Allure, Elle, Essence, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, Vanity Fair and W. The schedule for TV and radio campaigns is still being finalized, but spots will be seen for Mother's Day. The black and white campaign was shot by Bruce Weber for the Carlson & Partners agency.

Using an array of creativity and technology, Grain has created a new animated Internet spot for Doremus to help bring the ACE Limited Insurance’s high concept message into a new medium -- business website advertising. The spot, created using Macromedia Flash, is aimed at "c-level" corporate decision-makers (CEOs, CFOs, etc.). The campaign launched on media websites including Forbes.com, NYT.com, Businessweek.com and the CBS PGA website, with newly created visuals based on elements of the Doremus TV campaign for ACE. With the music soundtrack created by Grain and the sequence of dreamlike images that come to life in a water droplet on the executive's desk, the spot communicates the idea of “What if nothing stood in the way of your goals? Take away the risk and you can do anything.”

Lastly, Spanish Internet company Terra Lycos SA launched a learning and professional-training portal in its latest attempt to offset declining online advertising revenue with paid-for Internet content. The portal, called Educaterra, will provide interactive learning and training over the Internet in Spanish to businesses, academic institutions and to residential learners. Terra also plans to provide Portuguese content later this year. Most of the portal's content will only be accessible on payment.

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.

Next story loading loading..