Jordan Knight Sings The Old Navy Catalog

“American Idol” judges sometimes tell contestants they could sing the phone book and it would sound good. Now Old Navy and Crispin Porter & Bogusky are getting Jordan Knight, former New Kid from NKOTB, to sing the retailer’s catalog.

Knight’s heartfelt rendition of each item of the summer catalog, from bikinis to flip flops, can be found on Facebook. A television ad is set to follow, and on the site, visitors can download a free club remixed version of all of the songs. Because that’s exactly what you want to be jamming to this summer. (www.adage.com)

Nike Fuelband and Curators of Sweden Take Cyber Grand Prix

The Cyber 2012 jury, led by Google Creative Lab Executive Creative Director Iain Tait, awarded two Grand Prix to pieces of work that represented extreme poles of the category: Nike Fuelband+, out of R/GA New York, and The Swedish Institute/Visit Sweden’s “Curators of Sweden” campaign, created out of Volontaire Stockholm. While Nike represented the more technologically sophisticated possibilities of the category, the Swedish campaign created global impact with a basic Twitter handle.

Nike Fuelband is a sleek, simple wristband that allows its wearers to track the calories they burn not just through their workouts, but with any activity they do during the day in order to assess and improve their overall fitness through the Nike+ platform. They can also set daily goals for themselves and track their activity levels throughout the day.

The Swedish Institute’s “Curators of Sweden” campaign, launched at the end of 2011, handed over Sweden’s national Twitter handle (@Sweden) to Sweden’s natives in order to showcase the diversity of the Swedish national character, in effect, launching “The world’s most democratic Twitter account.” Each week, a new curator was chosen to man the account, including a writer, teacher, priest and lesbian trucker. The campaign sparked recent controversy for featuring an irreverent young mother named Sonja Abrahamsson who expressed anti-Semitic remarks but also inspired (American) comedian Stephen Colbert petitioning to be the first non-Swede to take over the account. (www.adage.com)

Petsecure Is Title Sponsor In The Edmonton Humane Society’s 20th Annual Pets In The Park

Petsecure is the Title Sponsor (aka Top Dog Sponsor) of The Edmonton Humane Society’s 20th annual Pets in the Park. Held Sunday, June 24th from 9am – 4pm at William Hawrelak Park, the pledged run and walk raise crucial funds to support the thousands of animals that The Edmonton Humane Society cares for each year.

As the Title Sponsor, earned through a $10,000 donation, participants can walk the Petsecure Pet Health Insurance 2.5 km Walk. Petsecure will provide bags and bandanas for the walkers.

“As the Title Sponsor for Pets in the Park, this is a great opportunity to not only get out and support a great organization and their community, but also raise awareness on responsible pet ownership,” said President and CEO Glenn Williams.

“We are honored that Petsecure Pet Health Insurance is our “Top Dog” sponsor for Edmonton’s Official Pet Festival, Pets in the Park,” says Edmonton Humane Society Spokesperson Shawna Randolph. “This is our signature fundraising event and being that we are a registered charity, we depend on the generosity of others like Petsecure, to help us care for about 13,000 homeless or abused companion animals that come through our door each year.” (www.sponsorship.com)

As The Proud Sponsor Of Moms, P&G Presents This Series About The Mom Behind The Olympic Athlete.

Procter & Gamble, a Worldwide Olympic Partner, and its Orgullosa program have partnered with Olympic Wrestling Athlete Henry Cejudo and his mom Nelly Rico to drive the importance of sports and encourage the community to help raise $500,000 for the P&G|Team USA Youth Sports Fund, which supports the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) youth sports organizations across the country.

The fund, created to provide broader access to youth sports and support moms who want their children to achieve their personal best, is part of the company’s “Thank you, Mom” global initiative for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Through its participation in this campaign, Orgullosa recognizes the dedication and effort of moms everywhere, like Nelly, who are the driving force behind the Olympic dream, and who embody what it is to be a “mujer con la falda bien puesta.”

Cejudo’s success story exemplifies the positive impact that sports can play in a young person’s life: one of six children, he was raised in some of poorest neighborhoods in Los Angeles and Phoenix. With his mother’s support, and motivated to overcome the hardships of his childhood, Cejudo focused his efforts in school and athletics, becoming the youngest American wrestler to ever win an Olympic gold medal.

“I am honored to be part of the Orgullosa ‘Thank You, Mom’ campaign and celebrate my mom’s hard work and efforts as well as help support the next generation of athletes,” said Cejudo. “While passion and perseverance are important to succeed, having access to community programs that provide opportunities for our youth to achieve their athletic dreams is as important.” (www.sponsorship.com)

Aiming for the Time and Place Right Before That Queasy Feeling

FOR a product that treats motion sickness, Dramamine has itself barely moved in terms of marketing in recent years, with no national advertising campaigns since at least 2005, according to Prestige Brands, which purchased Dramamine from Johnson & Johnson last year.

Now a new advertising campaign is directed at summer vacationers susceptible to nausea from travel by car, plane or cruise ship. While the ads themselves are straightforward, consumers might be surprised by where they turn up.

Passengers on some domestic US Airways flights, for example, will encounter a Dramamine ad on their seat-back trays. “Don’t let motion sickness spoil your travel plans,” says the ad, which shows a car driving along a coastline and a cruise ship in the background.

Billboards near airports show a plane in flight and the words “Hello blue skies! Goodbye motion sickness!”

Motorists will see ads not only on highway billboards (“Hello road trip. Goodbye motion sickness.”) but also atop gas pumps (“Enjoy the road. Leave motion sickness behind!”). And in port cities, ads on taxis show a view of the ocean from a cruise ship. (www.nytimes.com)

Fertitta-owned Ultimate Gaming to sponsor the UFC

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, newly launched social gaming company Ultimate Gaming has become the official online gaming sponsor of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC)

Ultimate Gaming, whose parent company Fertitta Entertainment also owns the UFC, will reportedly release a free-to-play poker game over Facebook on 22nd June and will begin a promotional campaign on 7th July during UFC 148: Silva vs Sonnen II at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

“With our unique ability to leverage the overlapping demographics between online gaming, traditional gaming and the worldwide sports and entertainment brand of the UFC, Ultimate Gaming is ideally positioned to rapidly capture a significant following in the United States and throughout the globe,” said Fertitta Interactive chairman Tom Breitling in a press release announcing the gaming company’s launch. (www.sportspromedia.com)

Arizona Launches Interactive Summer Campaign

The Arizona Office of Tourism is launching a summer ad campaign that uses social media to try to engage potential tourists.

Themed “Discover a Summer Worth Sharing,” it is geared to drive in-state travel and increase tourist activities during the summer months.

It uses Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to encourage travelers to “share” their Arizona travel experience with others to discover. By uploading photos and posting travel itinerary ideas on the campaign’s Web site, SummerInAZ.com, travelers engage in conversations about their own adventures throughout the state.

This activity aims to provide an “authentic” element to the campaign by encouraging consumers to give a third-party endorsement.

The Web site, which is both mobile and tablet/iPad-friendly, includes five types of travel categories based on what residents enjoy doing during Arizona’s summer months: AZ Explorer, Family Vacationer, Outdoor Adventurer, Urbanite and Water Enthusiast. (www.mediapost.com)
Microsoft Surface Faces Adoption Challenges, But Ad Targeting Benefits

Microsoft will face an uphill battle when it comes to adoption of its Surface tablet, but with the release of Windows Phone 8, digital agency executives believe ad targeting could improve. ABI Research expects Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows RT-based tablets to have little impact on the market this year, accounting for only 1.3% of global shipments. That could change in 2013.

ABI analysts believe Microsoft will play catch-up in 2012, primarily because it lacks adoption for Windows 7, and got a late start launching the next version, which will not be available until October. The company is introducing a fragmented operating system (OS) strategy with Windows RT and Windows — something Google has been punished for by Android OS developers.

“I don’t see Microsoft denting Apple’s market share, but it’s a good move for consumers,” said Rob Griffin, EVP, global director of product development at Havas Digital. “The new Windows mobile OS has been quite popular, so it’s a logical extension. For app design, Apple has two things in its favor. One, the install and user base, and two, the controlled Apple environment makes it easier to design.”

Griffin said ad targeting is a whole other opportunity. Microsoft’s scale across digital and mobile helps them support better ad targeting. Targeting requires the ability to tap as few players as possible or it can cause inefficiencies. (www.mediapost.com)

Cadillac Talks Tech With New XTS

The new Cadillac XTS sedan represents a new chapter for the GM luxury division, as it ventures beyond its three-vehicle lineup of the CTS sedan, SRX crossover and Escalade SUV. The new car, which starts at around $44,500, resides between a mid-size and large sedan and replaces the discontinued DTS and STS duo.

The 2013 XTS is also the new flagship for Cadillac, and serves as the up-market bookend of a portfolio that will soon include — at the other end of the spectrum — the ATX compact luxury car, which arrives later this year. That car, which be a competitor to cars like Audi A4 and BMW 3-Series, is also the gateway vehicle Cadillac is counting on to bring in brand-new buyers who will considerably lower the median age of the Cadillac owner base — which is now about 62, per Cadillac Global Marketing Director Jim Vurpillat. “We about five years older than the average luxury [auto] buyer, but part of that is the youngest luxury segment is compact.”

Vurpillat tells Marketing Daily that deliberately targeting younger consumers doesn’t work because it does nothing to change perception. “Rather than just going after younger buyers, it’s really more important not to be perceived as ‘old.’ So, for instance, last year we advertised V-Series [Cadillac's high-performance sub-brand] significantly, because it’s a perception-change agent,” he says.

The brand was in New York this week to show off the XTS and the new telematics platform, CUE (for customer user experience), of which XTS is the first beneficiary. (www.mediapost.com)

Boston Market Promos Signal Positioning Refocus

Boston Market has launched a series of summer promotions that mark the start of efforts to reestablish itself as the go-to source for “wholesome” out-of-home meals and attract a younger generation of consumers.

The promotions, touting Boston Market as the “Unofficial Sponsor of Summer,” tie into summer sports activities:

*Between June 20 and July 29, children 12 and under who visit their local Boston Market stores dressed in their team uniforms will receive a complimentary dessert with any kids’ meal purchase.

* Between June 25 and July 29, the brand will offer a “Summer at Its Best” sweepstakes, featuring a grand prize of a vacation for four in Maui and other prizes, including sporting goods and gift cards. Guests can enter by using their mobile phones to scan a QR code available in any of the chain’s restaurants, or by visiting its site. (www.mediapost.com)

Volvo Drives Strong ‘Escape’ Sponsorship

Volvo is hoping to emerge with a big brand lift after a sprawling sponsorship deal with new TNT reality series “The Great Escape.” The automaker’s deal with the Turner network stretches from product integration to branded vignettes to a second-screen app.

Turner has been moving aggressively into the sync app arena — via shows such as “Leverage” on TNT and “Conan” on TBS — where networks look to offer a supplementary experience on mobile devices as broadcast airs. The free “Great Escape” version with Volvo backing includes trivia, what’s-next predictions, behind-the-scenes action and social media opportunities. A gaming function allows users to accumulate points and ultimately enter a great-escape-to-Hawaii contest.

“The “Great Escape” is part of Turner’s efforts to add reality series to TNT and TBS. It posits three pairs of competitors each week trying to get out of a challenging environment that’s a secret to them. NFL Network’s Rich Eisen is the host; the premiere is set for Sunday after the drama “Falling Skies.”

A TNT-developed vignette will run during a break in each episode, featuring a trio of Volvo sedans in an escape scenario not dissimilar from the show. A traditional Volvo spot will follow. (www.mediapost.com)