United States of Craft Beer: Which Regions Sell the Most?

New York’s craft-brewing industry got a boost today with news that the state will restore a tax break and allow craft-brew sales at farmers markets — because who doesn’t need some ale to go with that freshly picked corn?

“This legislation will give our state’s growing craft-beer industry the tools needed to create jobs, promote agriculture and encourage environmentally friendly economic development across New York state,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday, according to the Associated Press, which reported the story. The AP noted that the state’s craft-brewing industry has doubled in the last 10 years, citing industry figures, and the restoration of the tax break certainly illustrates the rising clout of the fast-growing sector.

But the Empire State still trails eight other states in the total number of craft breweries with 56. That puts it behind California (238); Washington (121); Oregon (118); Colorado (114); Michigan (85); Pennsylvania (72); and Wisconsin (67), according to data compiled by the Brewers Association as of June 30, 2011. And on a per capita basis, New York ranks just 40th, with one craft brewery per 346,038 people, according to the association, a leading trade group for craft brewers. (See chart below for the top 10.)

As this map below shows, the West leads with the most penetration of craft-brew sales in the overall beer market. And that’s no surprise considering the region (particularly California) is where the movement began in the 1970s and early 1980s with pioneers such as New Albion Brewery and Sierra Nevada. (www.adage.com)

Who’s Going to Cannes: Twitter, Nike, Nestle and Louis Vuitton, But No Apple?

The red carpets have been rolled up, and the starlets and paparazzi have all departed the Cannes Film Festival. Which means hotels and restaurants are now prepping for what many speculate is the glam beach town’s most profitable week of the year: the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Next week thousands of adland’s biggest names will descend upon the South of France, where sea-view villas will be rented, yachts will be docked and the wine will flow freely during elaborate dinners and evening soirees along the water. Despite cautious spending by many companies and economic crises in parts of Europe, the Cannes confab doesn’t seem to be suffering. What’s more, what used to be largely agencies and production houses that attended in the hopes of picking up awards, is now far more dominated by marketers, as evidenced by the long list of companies attending.

One well-known brand that hasn’t officially registered this year is Apple — an interesting decision given its presence at the festival in prior years and the fact this will be the first Cannes festival with Tim Cook at the helm. Apple media reps didn’t respond to an Ad Age request for comment about its change of plans for Cannes, but we hear from industry execs that Apple may have some executives present for a few days, to hold meetings off site.

Media companies, such as Viacom and Time Inc., will also be making maiden voyages this year. (www.adage.com)

AOL Kills News, Launches ‘Huffington’

As AOL closes one door, another opens. Yesterday, AOL unceremoniously stuck a fork in the official AOL News property only a day before the launch of ‘Huffington’, AOL’s iPad magazine app.

The move marks a concerted effort to rebrand The Huffington Post as the primary news and editorial branch of AOL, which is quite a change from the pre-merger days, where AOL News dominated the Huffington Post’s web traffic by almost 9 million monthly uniques. It is hard to say the death of AOL News comes as much of a shock though—the AOL News Twitter account has been dormant since July 21st, 2011 (the Good News account has been quiet for over a year). For both the AOL and Huffington Post brands the move is a win as it consolidiates the properties and will throw a whole bunch of traffic HuffPo’s way (AOLNews.com now redirects to HuffingtonPost.com).

The losers in this game happen to be the writers who’ve contributed to AOL News throughout the year as all of their content is now extinguished from the Internet. Forbes reports that efforts are underway to retreive this content and restore access to the original authors, increasing speculation that the loss of older AOL News content may have been an unforseen consequence of pulling the plug on the domain. Accidental or not, it is a substantial loss of content. (www.adweek.com)

Virgin America Is Premier Sponsor Of 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival, Presented By Film Independent

Today the Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by Film Independent and Host Venue Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14 announced its sponsors for the 2012 Festival. The Los Angeles Film Festival will run from Thursday, June 14 to Sunday, June 24 in downtown Los Angeles. The Presenting Media Sponsor is the Los AngelesTimes, Premier and Opening Night Sponsor Virgin America and Platinum sponsors Kodak, Stella Artois, Melrose MAC, Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Deluxe Entertainment Services Group and EFILM, HBO, Volkswagen of America, Canon U.S.A., Nokia and Dolby Laboratories, Inc. Special support is provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and FOCUS FORWARD – a partnership between GE and CINELAN. The Official Screening Venue is Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14. Stella Artois is the official beer, Jameson Irish Whiskey is the official spirit, vitaminwater is the official water and E&J Gallo Winery is the official wine purveyor. The Los Angeles Athletic Club is the Official Host Hotel and Virgin America is the Official Airline Partner. WireImage is the Official Photography Agency and PR Newswire is the Official Breaking News Service of Film Independent.

Now in its eighteenth year, the Festival is recognized as a world-class event, showcasing the best in new American and international cinema and providing the movie-loving public with access to critically acclaimed filmmakers, film industry professionals, and emerging talent from around the world. As previously announced, the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival will screen a diverse slate of nearly 200 feature films, shorts, and music videos, representing more than 30 countries, along with signature programs such as the Filmmaker Retreat, Poolside Chats, Coffee Talks, music events and more.

Passes and tickets are currently on sale to Film Independent members and the general public. In addition to screenings and events, Festival passes provide access to a series of networking receptions and entry to the Filmmaker Lounge, where Festival pass holders can interact with Festival filmmakers and professionals in the film community. Contact the Ticket Office for passes, tickets and event information by calling 866.FILM.FEST (866.345.6337) or visit LAFilmFest.com. (www.sponsorship.com)

Anything-but-Ordinary Mom Pitches for Chobani Yogurt

TOO bad for Greece, and perhaps the euro, that the Greek economy is in no way helped by the surging popularity of Greek yogurt among American shoppers. In another sign of that interest, Chobani, the market leader in Greek yogurt in this country, is stepping up efforts to sell its new children’s product.

The product, called Chobani Champions, was already being advertised in magazines and on Web sites read by parents. Commercials are being added to the mix this month, featuring the first celebrity endorser for any kind of Chobani: Jennie Finch, a pitcher for the United States Olympic softball teams that won the gold medal in 2004 and the silver in 2008.

Ms. Finch appears in the commercial with one of her two sons, Ace, who is 6. (The other, Diesel, turns 1 Tuesday.) The signing of Ms. Finch is no coincidence: Chobani is an official sponsor of the 2012 United States Olympic team.

The campaign for Chobani Champions, which carries the theme “Win the day,” is being created by the New York office of Leo Burnett USA, part of the Leo Burnett Worldwide unit of the Publicis Groupe. Leo Burnett New York is the advertising agency of record for Chobani and Chobani Champions. (Big Spaceship, an interactive agency in Brooklyn, is the digital agency for both Chobani products.) The budget for the Chobani Champions campaign is estimated at $12 million. (www.nytimes.com)

Ads Promise You’ll Fall in Love With Cape Cod (Chips)

A brand in a competitive segment of the snack market is returning to its roots in a campaign meant to play up its origins.

The campaign, now under way, promotes the Cape Cod brand of kettle-cooked potato chips sold by Snyder’s-Lance by declaring that it comes from the “Home of ridiculously good chips.” That home is Hyannis, Mass., on Cape Cod, where the kettle chips were first made in 1980 and are still produced in a plant there.

The campaign is being called the first for Cape Cod that includes television and digital media. On TV, there is a commercial, set on a beach, that offers a humorous look at just how ridiculously good “ridiculously good” can be, featuring a flock of sea gulls that plays a hit tune by, the 1980s pop group A Flock of Seagulls.

The digital elements include a major presence on the brand’s Web site, at capecodchips.com, and in social media like Facebook; Twitter, where the brand’s handle, @EatCapeCodChips, doubles as a succinct ad; and YouTube. The campaign is being created by GKV, an agency in Baltimore that also creates ads for the Lance brand of snacks sold by Snyder’s-Lance. The Cape Cod commercial is running in four markets — Baltimore, Cincinnati, New Orleans and Richmond/Norfolk, Va. — and the campaign has an initial budget estimated at $2 million to $3 million. (www.nytimes.com)

Lucas Oil returns to the Madison Regatta

Automotive oil, additives, and lubricant manufacturer Lucas Oil has been announced as the title sponsor of the Madison Regatta.

Having previously title sponsored the hydroplane boat race in 2010, under terms of the new agreement the 2012 edition of the race will be officially known as the Lucas Oil Madison Regatta.

Financial terms of the agreement were not released.

“We are gratified by the generous sponsorship opportunity Lucas Oil has provided to us once again,” said Madison Regatta president Herb Parker. “On behalf of the entire Madison Regatta organization and the city of Madison I want to thank the entire Lucas Oil organization. We appreciate having such a great company with close ties to Indiana support our event.” (www.sportspromedia.com)

Crunchy Nut Woos Adults With Nutty ‘Superhero’

Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut is targeting adults with a humorous new campaign featuring “The Crunchy Nut” — a live faux-superhero character on missions to “seek out people suffering from dull breakfasts and put the fun back into cereal bowls everywhere.”

Dressed in yellow tights and a superhero face mask/cap accessorized with a spoon, and “armed” with a bottle of milk and a wooden honey stick, the Crunchy Nut swoops into homes and other scenarios to replace people’s boring breakfast choices with “sweet, nutty Crunchy Nut,” declaring: “It’s Super Delicious!”

The campaign is from Leo Burnett, Chicago, creators of characters including Tony the Tiger and Mini of Mini-Wheats.

The campaign has a digital focus, with emphasis on the brand’s Facebook page. That page is currently featuring the first in a series of “mission” videos (in this one, the Crunchy Nut saves a zookeeper and his hip-hop dancing bears from a donut breakfast), as well as a 30-second TV spot. (www.mediapost.com)

Chevy Backs Sportsman ‘Made In America’ Series

The Sportsman Channel has a deal with Chevrolet that includes exposure in on-air promos for programming launching later this month. The network, which targets hunters and anglers, is using a “Made in America” theme for its debut programming.

Spots end with a plug for the Chevy Silverado, tabbed the “official truck of the outdoors.” The Silverado will be the presenting sponsor of the “Made in America” premiere week, as the Sportsman Channel launches 22 new series. Chevy was part of a previous sponsorship effort with the network, where it began advertising in April.

The campaign, which launches June 25, includes the on-air spots and ads in niche print and digital properties owned by InterMedia Partners, which is also Sportsman Channel’s parent. The network, which is in about 31 million homes and recently became Nielsen rated, has produced a lengthy advertorial to run in magazines such as Guns & Ammo and Fly Fisherman.

Chevy sponsors a “Silverado Saturdays” four-hour programming block on the Outdoor Channel, a Sportsman Channel competitor. (www.mediapost.com)

‘Uncle Drew,’ Pepsi’s YouTube Sensation, Becomes TV Spot

“Uncle Drew,” a video produced by Davie Brown Entertainment for Pepsi Max, became a sensation when it debuted on YouTube in May. Now, the brand has turned the 5-minute video into a 30-second TV spot.

In fact, the ad — which is basically a trailer for the video — debuted during Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and will make another appearance during Games 2 and 3. Ad Age reports that the “Uncle Drew” success has prompted Pepsi Max to do a home page takeover on ESPN.com this Saturday.

Pepsi spokesman Sam Duboff tells the trade pub that a 30-second TV spot wasn’t in the cards when the brand initially uploaded the video two days after Kyrie Irving, who stars in the video, received the 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year award. “Once we started looking at the metrics, it became clear that we couldn’t miss the opportunity to bring Uncle Drew to the sport’s biggest stage.”

The video features Irving disguised as an elderly man named “Uncle Drew” who attends his nephew’s basketball game. When one of the players leaves the court with an injury, Uncle Drew steps in. He starts off slowly but soon wows the crowd with amazing moves, shots and dunks, all while trash talking his opponents. (www.mediapost.com)