Daily Buzz 3-7-12
Old Navy Touts T-Shirts With Two-Minute Commercial Starring Mr. T
The new Best-Tees collection, which highlights the retailer’s ongoing efforts to improve its offerings, includes new silhouettes, softer fabrics and more flattering fits. The line will be hyped by a marketing campaign beginning tonight and featuring the aptly named Mr. T, as well as a massive product giveaway.
“It’s always a big deal when a company reformulates any of its iconic products,” said Deborah Yeh, VP-marketing at Old Navy. “For the marketing team, it’s a tremendous opportunity to address what’s new about this iconic item.”
Yet it’s a program the marketer is undertaking without a president or chief marketing officer at the helm. The retailer has been without a CMO since last summer, while President Tom Wyatt departed last month.
“Myself, our creative partners, the rest of the team are still committed to doing our jobs,” Ms. Yeh said, while declining to comment specifically on the open positions. “While we always appreciate having great leaders working with us, we feel we have a fantastic team with us on the ground.” (www.adage.com)
Miller Lite Going Back to Miller Time
It’s “Miller Time” again.
MillerCoors plans to bring back the classic tagline for Miller Lite as a means to lift the brand out of a prolonged slump, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.
New ads are still in development but are expected to be unveiled at a distributors’ meeting later this month. The effort will replace the “Man Up” campaign by DraftFCB that positioned Lite as a great-tasting beer by mocking men who choose other brands. While the brewer does not appear ready to abandon the taste positioning, the “Miller Time” tagline suggests more of an emotional appeal.
The lead agencies on the campaign are DraftFCB, Chicago and Saatchi & Saatchi, New York, which recently took on Lite in addition to other MillerCoors brands such as Keystone and Miller High Life, as Ad Age reported in January. (www.adage.com)
Medical Oddities Abound in DDB’s First Skittles Ads
Skittles has a new ad agency, DDB, but the candy brand’s obsession with malformed anatomy continues. In the spirit of old TBWA spots like “Stable” and “Plant,” DDB’s new online spots include a girl with a Skittles monobrow and a boy who dispenses Skittles from his stomach. A third new ad involves a boy with “Skittles pox” who spreads it to a girl under the bleachers. Inheriting the Skittles account, which produced so many gems under TBWA, is a bit of a thankless situation. There’s a fine line between inspired absurdity and forced weirdness. These spots are a decent first pass for DDB, even if they’re not on the same level as TBWA’s truly transcendent Skittles spots with richer backstories and stronger dialogue, like “Touch” or “Piñata.” Two more spots after the jump. (www.adweek.com)
North American brewers are betting on some unusual flavors to convince more consumers to buy beer before liquor, as drinkers increasingly turn to exotic cocktails and other alcoholic beverages.
In the latest move, Molson Coors Brewing Co. said Tuesday it will launch Coors Light Iced T in Canada next month ahead of a possible U.S. rollout. The citrus-like, iced tea-flavored beer will have roughly 4% alcohol content but no caffeine. (www.wsj.com)
Taking a Page From the Web, Magazine Pitches a Social Game
FOR traditional media like magazines, remaining relevant in a world of new media and social media is no walk in the park. So how about a workout in the park?
That is the inspiration for an initiative from Self magazine, part of the Condé Nast Publications division of Advance Publications in New York.
On Wednesday, Self plans to introduce an online game that will bear the name of an event, Self Workout in the Park, that the magazine has hosted for 19 years in New York and other cities.
The game, like Self magazine, will be aimed at women, featuring game play in areas like fitness, health and wellness, beauty and fashion. The intent is for the game to be an online version of the Self annual workout event, adding interactive elements like avatars, virtual goods and puzzles. (www.nytimes.com)
Maximuscle enters the ring with Amir Khan
British boxer Amir Khan has signed a new personal endorsement agreement with leading sports nutrition brand Maximuscle.
Under terms of the two-year deal, financial details of which were not released, Maximuscle will provide the former WBA and IBF welterweight champion with individually-tailored nutritional support to complement his lifestyle, training and fight preparation. (www.sportspromedia.com)
Murad announces LA Dodgers partnership
Skincare brand Murad has become the official skincare partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise for the 2012 season.
The company will use the partnership to promote the importance of protecting skin from sun damage. As part of the deal, Murad will provide its products and run promotions and fan giveaways during all daytime home games throughout the 2012 regular season.
“As an avid Dodger fan, it is a privilege to partner with this legendary baseball team to provide education on ways to protect against sun damage, and the importance of health and wellness, both internally and externally,” said Dr. Howard Murad, who founded the firm in 1989 and is currently a practicing physician at the Murad Inclusive Health Medical Group in El Segundo, California. (www.sportspromedia.com)
Pet insurance providers have grown tenfold during the last decade to 11 companies — including Pets Best Insurance, the Hartville Group and Embrace Pet Insurance.
Though only about 1% of U.S. dogs and cats are insured 2009 spending totaling $303 million is expected to jump to $753 million by 2014, according to a report by Packaged Facts research firm. Overall, pet insurance policy sales have increased between 8% and 10% annually at different companies, says Kristen Lynch, executive director for the North American Pet Health Insurance Association.
In 2011, Americans spent an estimated $50.8 billion on their pets, and more than a quarter of those expenses — $14.1 billion — came in the form of vet bills, according to the American Pet Products Association. (www.mediapost.com)
40 New Stores For Dick’s Sporting Goods
Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. reported Tuesday that profit for the fourth quarter rose 27% to $111.1 million, compared with $87.5 million in the year-ago period. Revenue increased 6% to $1.61 billion from $1.52 billion, matching Wall Street expectations. Same-store sales inched up 0.1%.
The company said it expects to open 40 new Dick’s Sporting Goods stores and relocate four Dick’s Sporting Goods stores in 2012. Of those, six are slated to open in first quarter 2012 and one will be relocated. (www.mediapost.com)
Pop Star Sings For Mercedes-Benz
Pop star Aloe Blacc sang “I Need a Dollar” for Mercedes-Benz when the company pulled the wraps off of the next-generation A-Class during its news conference at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. The company says it will make the car, which comes to market later this year, its most affordable. (www.mediapost.com)
Ciroc Scores With During-Bowl Videos, Social
Ciroc vodka saw strong engagement results from videos with integrated interactive capabilities across social media and mobile platforms shown during this year’s Super Bowl and following days, according to Ciroc’s in-house agency and the media solutions provider involved.
Sean Combs, a/k/a Diddy or P. Diddy, who is in a multi-year agreement with the Diageo PLC brand wherein he gets a performance-based share of Ciroc’s profits, starred in four 15-second “Ciroc Bowl” videos released during the game. (Ciroc did not advertise during the Super Bowl itself.)
Early on Super Bowl day, a Diddy intro video was released, in which he encouraged fans to watch the videos that would be posted during the game and accessible through his Twitter and Facebook accounts, vote on which was their favorite, and interact with him via social media.
The videos featured Diddy engaging in novel activities like salsa dancing, jumping over a bull and curling (as well as safeguarding his Ciroc drink during a turbulent private-plane trip). (www.mediapost.com)
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