• by Adam Bernard , April 6, 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.

A few weeks ago, on an episode of the Sopranos, a Rutgers benefit concert was at the wrong end of a hold up, and now, James Gandolfini, who plays Tony Soprano on the show, is doing some more work with the school, as he's going to be in an ad for Rutgers football. In the Rutgers Football commercial, entitled "The Fan," a star-struck fan approaches a table of folks that includes Gandolfini, who himself is a 1983 graduate of the school, and Rutgers football first year Head Coach Greg Schiano, at the Rutgers University Red Lion Cafe. The fan seeks a celebrity autograph, but the celebrity he asks is ultimately Schiano, not Gandolfini. "The Fan" was created by DKB and Partners, a New Jersey advertising agency. Michael Imperioli, who plays Christopher Moltisanti on "The Sopranos," directed the 30-second spot for Perretti Productions. "The Fan" will air on New Jersey cable stations beginning Monday, April 16 and may be viewed nationally by logging onto http://www.scarletknights.com.

In the famed words of Monty Python, "and now for something completely different." Revlon will be unveiling its new look in advertising with the debut of a new brand campaign titled "It's Fabulous Being A Woman." The first execution of the new campaign, created by communications partner kirshenbaum bond & partners, launched this week, and features Absolutely Fabulous Lipcream, with both a 30-second and 15-second television commercials slated for broadcast throughout the world. An all-out print campaign will launch internationally in June in major consumer magazines.

The Do It Yourself (DIY) network, in conjunction with DISH Network, has launched a promotion where they will be giving away two replicas of the 1967 Cobra in the "DIY Kit Car Giveaway." One car will be given to someone nationally, the other to a DISH Network customer. The promotion, which runs from April 2 to May 7, will also include DISH Network offering a free preview of DIY to all DISH 500 satellite TV customers. The "DIY Kit Car Giveaway" will be promoted through an advertising campaign that will include print ads in newspapers and magazines, along with television spots and internet banner ads.

Premium Network, an online promotions firm and ad network, announced the launch of Premium Music Network, the firm's second targeted promotional portal. Premium Kids was the firm's first genre-focused portal and, based on that success, Premium Music Network is now offering the same level of value for advertisers focused on young adults. The site contains articles and interviews with musicians and groups, reviews of music products, contests and prizes, and features member sites such as AudioFind.com, DiskJockey.com, Gavin.com and SmasHits.com. The site will be edited by music industry insider David Gross an include monthly features contributed by other industry veterans such as Roy Trakin.

In other music related news, Microsoft launched a free streaming music service called MSN Music. MSN Music is a service that lets users listen to 22 different styles, and 100 substyles, of music. MSN Music also uses a combination of machines and programmers to create radio stations based on listener's requests for a specific "mood." This feature was created by MongoMusic, a digital music infrastructure company Microsoft acquired in September. Microsoft hopes to eventually build a subscription services into MSN Music.

Continuing with the musical theme, as reported in Rolling Stone, System of a Down singer Serj Tankian has created www.serjicalstrike.com. The site features original work by Los Angeles-based artist Sako Shahinian, the music of artists signed to Tankian's label, Serjical Strike, and a preview of Cool Gardens, Tankian's first self-published book of poetry.

Building on the response from last year's "Fake Out" advertising campaign, Orkin Exterminating Company released two new ad spots on April 2, 2001, once again featuring the "live roach." Last year, 15- and 30-second spots featured a cockroach crawling across the screen that, according to viewers, looked real enough to result in broken TV sets by those throwing anything they could get their hands on to kill the virtual pest. Orkin's new Fake Out ads include two 15-second spots; one ad features Gary Coleman masquerading as the star of a new Fall television series, and the second ad poses as a perfume commercial advertising a new fragrance.

StarMedia Network, a New York-based Internet company, and L'Oreal, a beauty-products firm, have launched a community portal called CadaMujer.com, targeting America's estimated 4.5 million Latino women who use the Internet. There are already versions of the Spanish-language site in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina, all offering news, chat rooms, and e-commerce.

- Compiled by MediaPost Staff Writer Adam Bernard. He may be reached at Adambernard@mediapost.com or 203-222-0330 x. 319