Advertising Updates

Catching up from last week:

Out to Launch

by Amy Corr, Wednesday, Jul 2, 2008 4:30 PM ET

Have "a better six" with Sleepy's. What would Redhook do? It's linner time. Let's launch! Special reasons are needed to consume Burger King's steakhouse sandwich. Are you worthy? Two teachers eat the sandwich in the first ad. One gave half his salary to charity and the other was just hungry. The manly gym teacher slaps some sense into the hungry teacher. A lost, malnourished hiker is berated because he's hungry, a surfer gets what he wants, unlike a man combing a beach with his metal detector for treasure -- and an astronomer's assistant takes too much credit for discovering a moon in the remaining ads, seen here, here and here. There's even a Web site that allows users to upload their picture and specialness into a local newscast. Special acts include delivering kittens, crash-landing a plane and performing CPR. If you don't upload a picture, you wind up looking like a man, even when you're not. Crispin Porter + Bogusky created the campaign and MindShare handled the media buy. Looking for a fast lunch alternative that doesn't include eating at your desk? Chili's is your answer. Two TV spots position the restaurant chain as an ideal place for a fast and delicious sit-down lunch. A hot dog vendor uses a slingshot to deliver office workers' lunches in "Sling Dog." A group of workers put on hold during a conference call start playing "Musical Chairs" until the caller returns. Watch the ad here. Hill Holiday created the campaign and handled the media buy. Axe created a TV spot that essentially brings a man's fantasy to life. Promoting its Axe detailer shower tool, a poof with a rough and smooth side, we see a man brought through a "Guywash." The smooth side gives him a soft scrub and a blow dry, while the rough side aggressively softens his rough patches. The spot ends with the man emerging clean and refreshed from the shower. See the ad here, created by BBH NY. Not everyone is a trust fund baby, lottery winner, or heiress, so we can't sleep our days away. Sealy launched a TV, print, outdoor and online campaign starring fictional characters who, unlike us, have the luxury to sleep 12 or more hours a day. Sealy posits, "If you're only going to get six hours of sleep a night, get a better six," while it debuts mattresses that are designed to eliminate tossing and turning. TV ads feature a golddigger that spends her hubby's money, an heiress that parties all night and sleeps all day, and Paxton Swafford III, the trust fund baby who plays video games and sleeps. See the ads here, here and here. Print ads follow suit, showing a king asleep on his throne, a sleeping heiress in a limo, the mooching brother of a lottery winner and a trust fund baby sleeping poolside. Click here, here, here and here to view creative. Cramer-Krasselt Chicago created the campaign and handled the media buy. Redhook Ale Brewery launched "Liquid Goodness," a print, radio, online, outdoor and point-of-purchase campaign. Print ads are running in the San Francisco Guardian, Seattle Sound, Seattle Weekly, Sports NW and Hartford Advocate, along with copy including, "Redhook would never sleep with your ex. Even if you gave him permission" and "Redhook would come over to your house and help you lift heavy stuff." See the ads here, here and here. There's also a coaster contest where users can create their own coasters with witty copy for a chance to have their coaster distributed nationally this fall. TM Advertising created the campaign and handled the media buy. In a world of steam, sad faces become happy and mountainous terrain becomes flat. LG launched a TV spot promoting its steam washer that takes place on a white shirt, although we don't know that initially. The happy face bounces atop a sleeping bear that sprouts a steam train from its ears. Mountains flatten as the train passes and viola, a crisp, whiter shirt is ready to wear. "Creases are overpowered in the world of steam," concludes the ad, seen here. BBH NY created the campaign. There seems to be a rise in companies promoting "linner," the time between lunch and dinner, where a snack is essential. Remember the Emerald Nuts campaign featuring the late Robert Goulet? Chick-fil-A created an online campaign using its Coffee Caramel hand-spun milkshakes as reason to visit during non-peak hours of 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Online ads for "It's Linner Time" are running on Facebook and MySpace. A microsite allows customers to upload videos of hungry people and send Linner Time invitations to friends needing a pick-me-up. Engauge created the campaign. Tylenol launched a series of 15-second spots under the "Feel Better" umbrella. The ads provide quick snippets of information, such as the fact that skipping meals can cause headaches, and conclude with the tagline, "Feel Better," coming from various Tylenol products. Losing one pound takes four pounds of weight off your knees, in an ad promoting Tylenol Arthritis. If my knees feel better, must I still pop pills? Other spots encourage drinking water, not watching TV in bed, calling in sick when feeling ill, taking a bubble bath and crying to release stress. Deutsch New York created the campaign and Universal McCann handled the media buy. Amy Corr is managing editor, online newsletters for MediaPost. She can be reached at amyc@mediapost.com.