The latest ad campaigns

This is a weekly feature from Mediapost:

Out to Launch

by Amy Corr

SOYJOY bows optimistic campaign. Dell computers are like snowflakes: each one is different. Microsoft small-business site giving away 5000 gallons of gas. Let's launch! Adidas launched a print campaign in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Australia for the upcoming Beijing 2008 Olympic games. "Inside" features Olympic athletes performing better because of the support they've received from other people. Creative demonstrates this support by illustrating each athlete performing with multiple limbs. Featured athletes include Russian pole-vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva; American sprinter Tyson Gay; American track star Jeremy Wariner; South Korean weightlifter Jang Mi-Ran; and Taiwan taekwondo athletes Zhu Mu-Yen and Yang Shu-Jun. "I run with 600 million legs," says an ad featuring Jeremy Wariner running on a track in sneakers, flip-flops and high-heeled shoes. See the ads here, here, here, here, here and here. TBWA/Tequila Hong Kong created the campaign. How much do I love "Grand Ole Opera," the new TV spot for Jeep Cherokee? Not as much as "La Boheme," the opera whose melody is used in the spot, but enough to watch the ad multiple times! Genuine opera singers sing the praises of owning a Jeep Cherokee in Italian. It helps remove a stranded vehicle stuck in a snow embankment and makes shoveling heavy bags of manure a pleasant experience. Get me a translator, stat! Watch the ad here, created by Cutwater. Euro RSCG New York launched a pro bono TV campaign in an effort to help fight homelessness in New York City. The campaign commemorates the fourth anniversary of Mayor Bloomberg's pledge to reduce the rate of the city's homeless by two-thirds. Unfortunately, the number of homeless people living in New York has increased; and the average age of a person living in New York is a sad, unacceptable, 9. The PSAs promote the Coalition for the Homeless, an organization that provides housing, food, job training and hope to the homeless. The ad features homeless people of all ages reading aloud the plight of New York City's homeless as written in an article from New York magazine. Watch the spots here, on the Coalition for the Homeless Web site. Dell is pushing the customizable button in its latest two TV ads. Much as dogs can sometimes resemble their owners, so can Dell computers. Do you like the color pink? Enough to match your laptop to your scooter? Make it work. See the ad here. The second ad stars a man who takes a series of pictures of him and his ladylove. The storytelling set of photos come to a conclusion when the man crops the woman out of a picture, posts his mug online and poof, he has a new woman in his story of photographs. See the ad here. Mother created the campaign and Mediacom handled the media buy. IKEA launched a Spanish-language spot called "Kitchens," showing the room's universal role in houses as a central area of vitality. The spot incorporates various IKEA Kitchen products into the ad, while illustrating the important role a kitchen plays throughout all the hours of a day. The little girl that needs to pee might be the cutest part of the ad, seen here. *SCPF created the campaign and MediaCom handled the media buy. A little piece of Miami came to Times Square this month in a guerilla effort promoting season two of USA's "Burn Notice." And by little piece of Miami, I mean a 50-ton sand sculpture that was constructed in Times Square. Aside from the ridiculous amount of sand, a team of Broadway actors went rollerblading throughout the city singing, "Burn, Notice, Burn!" tweaking the lyrics to "Disco Inferno." I'm glad I missed that. More up my alley was a beach towel giveaway in New York, Chicago and L.A. markets. See pictures from the campaign here and here. The michael alan group executed the stunts. Earlier this year, SOYJOY repositioned itself from an energy bar to a provider of whole soy. The company's latest print campaign connects having a good day physically and mentally to eating soy. It's a very simple, positive, upbeat print campaign. I like it. "Whole soy: A source of good karma," reads one ad. "Side effects from whole soy may include pleasant music playing quietly in head," says another. See the ads here, here, here, here and here, created by RPA. Microsoft Small Business launched a Web site that offers small businesses practical business tips during a difficult economic time. BumpTheSlump.com offers five ways that small businesses can save money -- and 5,000 gallons of gas to one lucky small-business owner who enters their information online. In addition to this site, Microsoft is launching a peer-to-peer learning site later this month where small-business owners can share tips and advice with fellow SMB. Bradley and Montgomery created the campaign. Amy Corr is managing editor, online newsletters for MediaPost. She can be reached at amyc@mediapost.com.