• by Adam Bernard , May 11, 2001

Every week brings a myriad of ad campaign and website launches and it's nearly impossible to keep up with them all. If you missed a few, here are some the major launches of the week that was, and the week that will be.

This is going to be one lucky summer for fans of Christina Aguilera. The singing sensation will star in a new campaign for Coca-Cola to support its huge summer promotion, which will give fans the chance to win a backstage tour and meet Christina on the set of one of her upcoming music videos. Christina's participation continues a relationship Coca-Cola has had with the singer since summer 2000. This year's campaign includes a TV commercial breaking next week that shows how one fan reacts after winning the chance to hang with Christina; radio spots on stations around the country, estimated to reach more than 126 million listeners; full-page ads in People, Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone; point-of-sale displays; a special in-theater ad on more than 11,000 movie screens across the country; also a website that includes "behind the scenes" photos from the making of the commercial, and extensive online advertising that more than 714 million Internet users are expected to see.

Santa Monica-based Media Revolution, an integrated marketing agency, has been selected by Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment and Columbia Pictures to develop the official "Spider-Man" motion picture website (www.sony.com/spider-man) scheduled to launch in July 2001. Building on the companies' creation and development of the film's teaser site, which launched in March, the official "Spider-Man" site will include video press conference highlights, downloads, discussion boards, sweepstakes and extensive behind-the-scenes information.

Audi shows, through its recently launched advertising campaign, that you can't make history if you don't already have one. The campaign's tag line, "Great then. Great now." embraces the rich history of Audi's motorsport success and quattro technology, Audi's permanent all-wheel drive system. The new campaign consists of one television spot that will air on national broadcast and cable stations, two print ads for national lifestyle magazines and automotive publications, and one radio commercial for spot market use. The ads will run through the end of the year.

ClubMom, Inc., an organization dedicated to celebrating moms, has announced that "The View" co-host, Meredith Vieira, will appear in the company's first TV commercial. The spot, from ClubMom's advertising agency, New York-based Stein Rogan + Partners, will debut May 14, the day after Mother's Day. In the 60-second commercial, Vieira, a mother of three and co-founder of ClubMom, introduces ClubMom's MomRewards program, a Mom-focused customer loyalty program that rewards Moms for shopping at some of their favorite stores.

Keeping with the theme of woman, Subaru of America, Inc. is launching a new advertising campaign featuring nine-time Wimbledon Champion Martina Navratilova, champion mountain biker Tara Llanes, and professional snowboarder Victoria Jealouse. Part of new creative to support the 2002 Subaru Forester, and the "What Are You Made Of?" campaign, created by Temerlin McClain, Dallas, acknowledges the accomplishments and competitive spirit of active lifestyle women.

Prime Hospitality Corp.'s quickly growing AmeriSuites chain is preparing to launch its first ever television advertising campaign on national cable stations. Featuring the campaign line, "Don't Downsize. AmeriSize," the 30 second commercial will be aired on leading cable stations including CNN, Headline News, TNT, Fox Sports, Comedy Central and the History Channel beginning May 12, 2001 and running through late June. The spot focuses on a typical hotel room being "morphed" into a larger AmeriSuites suite, showing the larger desk/work area and ample living room area as well as the hotel's upgraded Bountiful Breakfast Buffet.

A $2.5 million global multi-media campaign for The Economist will launch on May 9th, beginning with a commercial revealing that Nelson Mandela read The Economist during his long years of imprisonment. Beginning with the May 12th issue, The Economist will print in full color throughout, using color photographs, artwork and graphics. Besides a new, more contemporary look to the cover, contents and the introduction of 4-color to the publication, the magazine has streamlined its layout to provide easier navigation of the sections. Each section will contain its own table of contents and there will be subtle changes to the whole look and feel of the newspaper, all designed to make the ideas, arguments and analysis clearer, easier to find and easier to read.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has debuted a campaign based on the tagline "More people read the Post-Gazette." The campaign spotlights sections and features that have made the paper popular. There will be TV, radio, and print ads, with the TV ads running on the big three, and Fox Sports. There will also be billboards in the downtown area of the city.

Kmart Corporation today named Don Coleman Advertising as its multicultural agency of record, expanding its African-American advertising and marketing support to include Kmart's Hispanic promotions. Headquartered in Southfield, Mich., Don Coleman Advertising was named the No. 1 multicultural agency in the United States by Advertising Age Magazine for two consecutive years providing full marketing services including research, strategic planning, advertising, promotions, public and press relations, media and special events.

BET.com, in conjunction with Cendant Mortgage, HomeSide Lending, and Fannie Mae, is introducing the "Owning a Home" channel (http://owningahome.bet.com). The updated home-buying and home-ownership channel combines features from the former "Home Center" with expanded content, more user-friendly functionality, and a new look. The channel is designed to help simplify the home-buying experience for first-time homebuyers and to increase homeownership opportunities for African-Americans. The site is also a resource for current homeowners who want to refinance their existing mortgage or remodel their current home.

Agencia Estado, a Brazilian news agency, is launching AE Brazil.com, an online service of financial, political and business news from Brazil. AE Brazil.com was designed for international traders and analysts looking for up-to-the-minute Brazilian news. Initially, AE Brazil.com will be available to all readers, until May 23. Afterwards, the website will be exclusive to subscribers. At AE-Brazil, readers will find the very latest information on Brazil's financial markets and commodities, as well as news about companies and political developments.

World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. is undertaking a campaign to encourage potential advertising and marketing partners to "Think Again" about the company's global World Wrestling Federation brand. Although World Wrestling Federation Entertainment has grown from 15 advertisers to more than 150 partners over the past four years, the company is looking to aggressively add new advertising partners in the coming year. WWFE's "Think Again" initiative began last week with a series of trade advertising based on the results of an ongoing research project being undertaken to more clearly define World Wrestling Federation television viewers and their connection to the brand and other consumer brands.

- MediaPost Staff Writer Adam Bernard may be reached at Adambernard@mediapost.com or at 203-222-0330, ext. 319.