Natives Star as Hometown Tour Guides: Ground Zero Features Locals for CitySearch On-line Service

By Angela Dawson





LOS ANGELES–Ads for the on-line service CitySearch offer the inside scoop on what’s happening in various cities around the country.





In its first work for the client since winning the $8-10 million account in March, Ground Zero has developed a campaign around the theme, ‘Views From the Inside.’ The objective is to distinguish CitySearch’s Web site from Microsoft’s Sidewalk and other on-line guides.





‘It seemed to us the only way to beat a company with clearly better name recognition and a considerably larger ad budget was to focus on what makes CitySearch special–namely, its emphasis on the site being made by locals for locals,’ said Court Crandall, Ground Zero’s co-creative partner.





In TV, print and outdoor ads, the Santa Monica, Calif.,