Out to Launch
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
True Value feels your pain. Not-so-breaking news: there are aliens in New Mexico. Is that Che Guevara? Nope, it's Richard Branson for the Financial Times. Let's launch!
  • True Value feels your pain. Not-so-breaking news: there are aliens in New Mexico. Is that Che Guevara? Nope, it's Richard Branson for the Financial Times. Let's launch!

    You don't start at the top when building great feats of engineering. You build from the ground up. BMW compares its BMW 3 convertible to the likes of the Taj Mahal, Empire State Building and the St. Louis Arch in "Feats." The ad shows what the landmarks would look like, had they been built from the top down. The BMW 3 convertible is "built from the ground up, to be an ultimate driving machine," says the voiceover. Click here to watch the ad. Random factoid: the son of the architect of the St. Louis Arch directed this ad. GSD&M handled all aspects of the campaign.

    The Financial Times launched a branding campaign in the UK to coincide with the newspaper's redesign. Using the tag line "We Live in Financial Times," the campaign features three distinct images that represent globalization, mergers and acquisitions and entrepreneurship. A series of different-sized sharks, the smaller being swallowed by the larger, represent mergers and acquisitions. World business is depicted with an island containing recognizable business buildings from all over the world. Lastly, entrepreneurship shows the face of Richard Branson made to resemble the iconic picture of Che Guevara. Click here, here and here to see the ads. Each ad drives traffic to a microsite where users will be able to sample content on FT.com for free via a special PIN code promotion. The campaign was created by DDB London. BJK&E handled the outdoor media buy.

    Nike created a print ad that ran April 15 in the New York Times thanking ignorance for starting the conversation and drawing attention to the positive accomplishments achieved by the Rutgers women's basketball team. "Thank you for making all of us realize that we still have a long way to go. Next season starts 11-16-07," concludes the ad. Click here to see it. Wieden+Kennedy Portland created the ad.

    Valspar paint bowed a TV, print, outdoor and online campaign using the tagline, "The Beauty Goes On." The campaign promotes the brand's scores of durable colors; you can pluck a shade from Mother Nature herself with the hopes of matching it on the home front. I'd like lilac and clean ocean, please. TV ads feature glaciers, trees, ocean sand, and a honeycomb missing a small square of color. Click here and here to see the ads. I really like the print ads. Similar to the TV spots, each depicts a piece of nature, whether an iceberg, rock or tree, missing some color. Click here, here and here to view the ads. Euro RSCG Chicago created the ads. MPG handled traditional media buying and Media Contacts handled the online buy.

    True Value launched a print, TV, radio and online campaign targeting those go-getting DIYers. "Blow" shows a True Value employee passing by a customer that looks like he's farting bubbles. I kid you not. This triggers an emotional flashback for the True Value man; he recalls carefully watering his lawn as his daughter blows on a dandelion. Not wanting the seeds on his manicured lawn, he makes a dive to catch the seeds before they hit the ground. Back to present day, True Value man approaches the customer and his bubble-blowing daughter to offer lawn advice. Click here to watch the ad. "Dimmer" features another True Value employee who installed a dimmer switch in her home. Once that switch is in place, she's able to see the light on many more future home projects. Click here to see the ad. Print ads portray people in situations that scream "future house project." In one ad, a woman uses her cell phone as a light (like I've never done that before); another shows a man holding his doorknob, although it's not attached to the door. The fear of a red rum, I mean red room, is apparent in a third ad. The final ad shows a man with green-grass envy. Click here, here, here and here to see the ads. There is also a microsite, StartRightStartHere.com, the campaign's tagline. MARC USA created the campaign and handled media planning and buying.

    I could have played the "Delicate Flower" portrayed in the latest spot from CiCi's Pizza. I, too, have a hearty appetite. A woman begins at the buffet line filling her plate with salad, along with a few slices of pizza and cinnamon buns. Click here to watch it. The ad is running on national cable, local cable and local broadcast. Deutsch created the ad and handled the media buy.

    The New Mexico Tourism Department launched a TV, print and online campaign this month that states the obvious: there are aliens among us. The aliens in the ads resemble those found in the "Alien" movies. "Taking Care of You" shows aliens portraying office workers looking for a place to go on vacation. Watch the ad here. "Sick Day" features an alien woman that's busted when her co-worker finds out she called in sick to visit New Mexico. Click here to watch the ad. Aliens can be found golfing, fly fishing and biking in the print ads. Click here to see a print ad. All campaign elements drive traffic to the Web site, NewMexicoEarth.org. M&C Saatchi North America created the campaign and Round2 handled the media planning and buying.

    Wieden+Kennedy Portland created a series of gatefold ads for Nike's women's spring collection. Ads feature a runner, dancer, boxer and tennis star Maria Sharapova donning various Nike outfits. Motivational copy is also featured. "What they call 'killer instinct' only gets you so far," begins Sharapova's ad. "After that, it's running 'til your legs want to cry, serving 'til your arm falls off and then doing it again tomorrow..." Click here, here, here and here to see the ads. Ads are running in Allure, Cosmopolitan, Fitness, Glamour, InStyle, Lucky, Marie Claire and Shape. W+K also handled the media buy.