May 01, 2000
Shops respond to exit of Elian Some agencies joined in the work stoppages of last week's "Black Tuesday" in Miami, following the feds' snatching of Elian Gonzalez. The 38-member staff at IAC Group voted to close for the day, though "everyone was still deployed in their homes," says Ana Maria Fernandez Haar, chairman and president. Haar, who's Cuban...
April 24, 2000
Newtonian theory of physical figness Look out, PowerBar, here comes . . . Fig Newtons? Nabisco Biscuit Co. in May issues of fitness magazines presents the fig-and especially the Fig Newton-as the answer to athletic endurance. The campaign from FCB Worldwide, New York, depicts Greek athletes and reveals how "Olympians worshiped the fig and used it f...
April 17, 2000
Tylenol focuses on doll-emmas Even a doll can have real-life discomfort in a Canadian ad for new Extra Strength Tylenol Menstrual. Posters created by Saatchi & Saatchi, Toronto, are up in 300-plus women's washrooms around the country. Under the doll is the word "Bloated?" in puffy letters and a picture of the product. Another poster, over the head...
April 10, 2000
Uncle Sam cig vs. Marlboro Man Corporate watchdog Infact was in Chicago at the Daley Center, railing and rallying against Philip Morris, when protesters decided to stroll a couple blocks to the HQ of Leo "Marlboro Man" Burnett Co. and continue their commotion there. Infact has been battling corporate behemoths for 23 years, and this time it's dispa...
April 03, 2000
Workdaze I: RABble rouser From coast to coast, it's a scorching spring for the job market. New York healthcare shop Robert A. Becker/Euro RSCG is trying to poach talent from blue-chip agencies via ads on the streets of the Big Apple. Becker bought seven strategically placed boards above subway stations. The ads display agency initials RAB in a desi...
March 27, 2000
Dog days done for now at Old Navy Every dog has its day, but the sun has set, at least for a while, on Magic, the fetching pooch who has appeared in Old Navy advertising since its first TV commercials in 1997. Also a no-show in new Old Navy spots is former fashion writer Carrie Donovan. The ads for The Gap's discount chain instead feature Lisa Ling...
March 20, 2000
Isle sponsor CBS' `Survivor' If you could sponsor a TV series that was a cross between "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and "Gilligan's Island," would you hesitate atoll? Eight sponsors apparently didn't -- they've signed integrated ad packages for "Survivor," a joint effort of CBS and Mark Burnett, creator of Discovery Channel's "Eco Challenge." Si...
March 06, 2000
Charlotte Beers is among several high-profile women photographed for a spring fashion feature in the March issue of Town & Country. The Hearst magazine helpfully lists the items the J. Walter Thompson Co. chairman is wearing, from jacket to heels, and gives their prices. Ring it up for a total of $4,275. Beers also appeared in Town & Country in 199...
February 28, 2000
MADD Roswell tale of alien -- aw -- tipsy Minneapolis agency Clarity Coverdale Fury has blown the lid off the Roswell coverup -- it really was a UFO that crashed in New Mexico in 1947, piloted by an alien who was DWII, driving while intoxicated interstellarly. Actually, the photo of the crashed saucer, besotted "gray" and his beer bottle is an ad f...
February 21, 2000
New York agency Admerasia sent out a special New Year's e-card this month, not a month late but instead marking the start of the lunar calendar's year 4698, the Year of the Dragon. The card's design -- from art directors Orlando Lin and Junko Yumito, Creative Director Aok Yuen, and Chief Creative Officer Jeff Lin -- combines themes from the lunar a...
February 14, 2000
FedEx bump in the yellow brick road Super Bowl viewers may have liked it, Bob Garfield 31/2-starred it, but the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition is trying to deflate FedEx's new "Wizard of Oz" spot created by BBDO Worldwide, New York (AA, Jan. 31). The group, which battles the teen practice of "huffing" inhalants to get high, was appalled wh...
January 31, 2000
Lane Bryant and Bijan Fragrances are paying homage, each in its own way, to the (fuller) female form in new marketing pushes. The Limited's plus-size retail chain is planning another fashion show Webcast, this time set for Feb. 2 and debuting the Cacique collection of intimate apparel. "Veronica's Closet" cast member Kathy Najimy is featured in the...
January 24, 2000
Revlon's new relationship with Hearst Magazines has lasted about as long as one of Ronald Perelman's marriages. Revlon ads appeared again in Hearst January and February books, after a five-year absence, but have disappeared again. Revlon and Hearst weren't commenting, but other magazine execs said Perelman, Revlon's chairman, objected to giving Hea...
January 17, 2000
Hoffmann-La Roche's new mobile marketing concept solves two nagging problems -- how to both avoid the flu and find convenient, affordable housing in the city. Eight trucks trolling several cities tout new flu med Tamiflu (AA, Oct. 4); they feature a huge transparent cubicle furnished like a studio apartment and inhabited by an actor. Emblazoned on ...
November 08, 1999
. First they staked out some grassy real estate in the Easter basket. Then they moved to the Christmas stocking and trick or treat bag. Next February, they'll hit Valentine's Day, as Marshmallow Peeps morph into a new heart shape. "There are four real key candy holidays -- Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day and Easter. The introduction of Peeps...
March 03, 1997
Life's a drag as NEC goes to camp NEC has a new pitchman. Or woman. Whatever. It's RuPaul, identified as "actor, actress" in a campaign breaking today from Hampel/Stefanides in NY for Packard Bell NEC's NEC Computer Systems. NEC's Versa notebooks pack in a lot of features and let owners plug in a CD-ROM or extra battery. So NEC is pushing the line ...
March 03, 1997
Life's a drag as NEC goes to camp NEC has a new pitchman. Or woman. Whatever. It's RuPaul, identified as "actor, actress" in a campaign breaking today from Hampel/Stefanides in NY for Packard Bell NEC's NEC Computer Systems. NEC's Versa notebooks pack in a lot of features and let owners plug in a CD-ROM or extra battery. So NEC is pushing the line ...
