• by Lindsey Fadner , July 3, 2002

Every week new ad campaigns and websites are launched, and it’s hard to keep up with them all. To recap some of this week’s highlights: The Advertising Council announced that it is launching a series of Public Service Announcements created by its “Campaign for Freedom” that will debut just in time for Independence Day, United Airlines will send four lucky people to New York to play against John McEnroe during its sponsorship of the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament, and Tommy Hilfiger U.S.A. has a new website. Find out about these new campaigns and others you may have missed in this week’s edition of “Out to Launch.”

The Advertising Council announced that it is launching a series of Public Service Announcements created by its Campaign for Freedom, the largest campaign of its kind and an unprecedented volunteer effort by the advertising industry. The PSAs come just in time for Independence Day, and each concludes with the tagline, “Freedom. Appreciate it. Cherish it. Protect it.” Phil Dusenberry, the recently retired Chairman of BBDO North America and Creative Counsel of the Campaign for Freedom, spearheaded the effort. In all, eight television PSAs and one print ad have been developed pro bono by ad agencies DDB, DeVito Verdi, Lowe and TBWA/Chiat/Day and will launch July 4th. Production of the PSAs was entirely funded by the advertising community.

United Airlines will launch a month-long summer promotion this week starring John McEnroe, the former bad-boy of tennis who now works as an analyst and TV commentator. The effort is a tie-in to the U.S. Open, which will be played at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. from Aug. 26 to Sept. 8. United, a sponsor of the tournament, is running a contest on its website that will send four grand-prize winners to New York to play against McEnroe during the weekend of the final rounds. United will support with newspaper and magazine ads in cities nationwide. Frankel, Chicago, is handling the contest, while Fallon Worldwide, Minneapolis, is United's agency of record.

Fresh off its Grand Prix from the International Advertising Festival in Cannes, Nike this week launched an integrated campaign for its Presto line featuring a group of high-flying urban gymnasts who dart off buildings and other cityscapes. Ads created by Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, Ore., will run on TV and the Internet; the marketer is also scheduling appearances by the gymnastics troupe in almost a dozen cities.

Nike Golf, a division of Nike, has gone far outside the traditional boundaries of golf advertising to promote its products in the past. By enlisting the vocal services of legendary singers Glen Campbell and Nancy Sinatra to anchor its latest campaign, however, they’ve gone even farther. Nike Golf will kick off a summer advertising campaign for its Precision Power Distance line of golf balls encompassing print, radio and broadcast media, beginning July 8. Three different versions of the "Ball Go Far" song sung by Campbell, Sinatra and a Vegas lounge act, will air on nationally syndicated radio. Broadcast will follow shortly after the radio kicks in, tied primarily to sports programming and running through August. Throughout July and August golfers may even spot the 25-foot "Ball Go Far" blimp or similar aerial banners circling their golf course or "Ball Go Far" banners on fencing at the back of driving ranges in key markets. The campaign was developed for Nike Golf by Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, Ore.

With the help of The Sloan Group, New York, the Athlete's Foot in August will launch an outdoor campaign in New York to tout "FitPrint," a proprietary technology that evaluates the foot. Guerrilla and online efforts also support. Outdoor ads will be located in areas surrounding The Athlete's Foot's 11 New York stores. Creative shows vivid close-ups of people with agonized expressions with the tag, "Maybe it's Your Feet." The FitPrint system evaluates arch type, pressure points while standing and moving, weight balance for both feet and rolling action for both feet. Participants can view the results on a full-color computer monitor that illustrates the critical components of foot type so they can make appropriate footwear purchases. The Athlete's Foot has implemented the technology in the majority of its corporate stores and plans to expand its use for a competitive advantage in the athletic footwear retail market.

La Agencia de Orcí & Asociados, one of the largest independently owned Hispanic ad agencies in the country, launched a Hispanic advertising campaign in Chicago for Gamesa USA, Inc., a division of PepsiCo. The Spanish-language campaign will extend Gamesa's popular Hispanic cookie brands into "MiniPacks," individually packaged cookie packs designed for the U.S. Hispanic market. The campaign includes two :60 radio spots, interior subway rail cards and newspaper rack cards for La Raza, the largest Spanish language newspaper in Chicago. The campaign will also include a freestanding insert in La Raza. The tagline: "Perfectos para llenar el huequito" (perfect to fill the hunger gap).

Two TV spots breaking this week from new Saturn Corp. agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, support a 2002 model clearance campaign by the General Motors Corp. unit. Creative from the Omnicom Group agency shows the thoughts of Saturn owners that take advantage of the company's five-year, 0% financing offer. Separately, Saturn is also sponsoring its first music tour, the Goo Goo Dolls summer tour with Third Eye Blind and Vanessa Carlton.

In online news: A company famous for it’s red, white and blue, Tommy Hilfiger U.S.A., Inc. announced the re-launch of its popular website. The site's new look and enhanced functionalities are designed to better serve its vibrant community and to underscore the company’s commitment to developing a global lifestyle brand. Developed in cooperation with Organic, Inc., New York, a strategic digital marketing company, the site also offers an array of additional entertainment and editorial features, as well as improved architecture that streamlines navigation and facilitates frequent updates.

Looking to extend its brand positioning as "sandwich specialists" to the Web, New England restaurant chain D'Angelo has launched a new site. The website, designed and developed by Boston i-shop Red98, features online coupons and promotions, an interactive store locator, restaurant and catering menus and employment and franchise opportunities. Red98 had previously launched a new site for Papa Gino's, which like D'Angelo is owned by Papa Gino's Holding Corporation.

-- This newsletter is compiled weekly by MediaPost staff writer Lindsey Fadner. Past issues are archived at the MediaPost website. Your comments, questions and submissions are always welcome and appreciated.