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NEW YORKA 30-second radio commercial created by Oink Ink Radio in New York for King World in Los Angeles won two International Broadcasting Awards. "Growing Up … Gilbert," crafted for Hollywood Squares, was judged to be the "World's Best" in two radio categories: "Broadcast/Cable Entertainment Promotion" and "Humorous, 30 Seconds."Jerry Della Femina will chair the judging panel for the seventh annual Financial Communications Society Portfolio Awards, which recognizes creative excellence in financial advertising. The awards will be presented May 8 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York. Della Femina, the chairman of Della Femina, Rothschild, Jeary & Partners, will head a panel of agency creative directors and advertising and marketing executives from financial-services companies.Stein Rogan + Partners won a first-place Mobius Award in the Internet Services category for its work on the print campaign for Uproar last year. The winning print ad, which ran in several marketing trade publications that included Adweek, features the character Hank, whose wife is so taken with Uproar's Trivia Blitz game that he resorts to cutting down the power lines outside his home to get her to stop playing. Uproar is an interactive-entertainment company that operates a family of advertising-supported entertainment sites. Stein Rogan, part of the Bozell Group unit of True North Communications, is an interactive- and integrated-advertising agency in New York.Remedy, a New York-based creative-solutions studio, worked with the pay-per-view service iNDEMAND in New York to enhance its brand identity, producing a package of four five-second network branding IDs, each comprising a unique graphic build of the iNDEMAND logo and live-action end tags. The Remedy team, led by design director Christine Lin, was made up of executive creative director Paul Newman, executive producer Stephen Kinney, senior producer Simone Barker, production designer/art director Ben Barraud and director of photography Jason Harvey.Rotter•kantor launched a licensing division, rotter•kantor licensing. The new unit was established to provide licensing services to existing and prospective agency clients. Rotter•kantor licensing will offer support for both traditional licensing of established characters and properties and out-licensing of clients' internally developed creative assets. The division will be managed by senior licensing executive Andre Lake Mayer. Rotter•kantor is a communications company with offices in New York and California.In mid-December, Staples introduced "Snow-bot," a robot resembling a snowman, to help shoppers with their high-tech purchases. The character appears in "Snow-bot," a 30-second spot from Cliff Freeman and Partners in New York and editor Owen Plotkin of Editing Concepts, also in New York. In the commercial, Snow-bot assists customers who seek Palm Pilots and digital cameras, but when a shopper is interested in a particular fax machine/ copier/scanner, Snow-bot's jealousy is aroused. The robot pleads with the consumer, "You can't have her [the fax machine]. I love her." A tug-of-war ensues, and the customer and Snow-bot are separated by Staples employees. The spot closes with the employees consoling a weeping Snow-bot and offering a new girlfriend, an electrical power strip. Mark Tiedemann of New York production company Celsius Films directed the commercial. B2Women, a division of Communications/ Marketing Action, a New York-based public relations and integrated-marketing firm, was retained by Springboard Enterprises for its first New York forum, Springboard 2000 New York. The national initiative was created to accelerate investments in high-growth women-led firms and facilitate new-deal flow to investors.The Diecks Group designed two promo/ show open packages for two Turner Network Television concerts, Christmas in Washington and A Very Special Christmas. The shows premiered Dec. 17 and Dec. 19 respectively. For the former, a musical event for President Clinton and the First Lady that featured performances by Jes sica Simpson, Billy Gilman, Brian Mc Knight, The Corrs and Marc Anthony, The Diecks Group designed an organic look that incorporated numerous in-camera effects and natural light. The company shot footage of various lighting and reflections, and projected scenes of Washington, D.C., historical monuments and tradi tional Christmas images onto different surfaces, which were then composited together. The Very Special Christmas promo/show open package opens with exterior scenes reminiscent of Christmas in Washington, but abruptly shifts to a more frenetic gear. Taking its cue from the Keith Haring painting that has adorned the Very Special Christmas CDs and video covers for several years, the piece promotes live performances by Jon Bon Jovi, B.B. King, Wyclef Jean, Macy Gray and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Crawford Advertising was tapped to provide public relations services for HealthWay Products Co., an air-quality technology company whose products feature patented technology for killing airborne micro organisms in indoor environments. CA created and is currently implementing a campaign focused on introducing the new technology and HealthWay's products. CA, which is based in Syracuse, has an office in Frederick, Md.The Steven Style Group's Technology division was retained by 1stBooks Library, a publisher of full-length original print-on-demand books and e-books. The New York-based agency will create and implement a broad-based multitiered public relations campaign for the client. The Steven Style Group is a full-service marketing-communications agency that specializes in high-technology/dot-com companies and services.Public relations and interactive- communications agency Corinth Group Communications in New York added three new clients. Based in Melville, Savage Laboratories is the ethical pharmaceutical division of Altana, the U.S. subsidiary of Byk-Gulden, a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Konstanz, Germany. The division develops and markets products for use in dermatology, obstetrics/gynecology, emergency medicine, critical care and pulmonary medicine. LifetecNet, based in Westboro, Mass., is a Web-based business-service provider of integrated supply-chain management for the life-science industry. LifetecNet creates and supports private e-hubs for life-science companies and their trading partners on a validated technology platform following regulatory compliance guidelines. Based in Chicago, Rxaminer provides prescription-drug information services to consumers and the health-insurance industry.Feren Communications, a public relations firm that specializes in TV accounts, is now known as FerenComm. The New York-based agency's clients include New Line Television, Sesame Workshop, Inside Edition, the Food Network and The Miss Universe Organization.NEW JERSEYDenglas Technologies has hired R&J Group in Parsippany. The client, headquartered in Moorestown, is a producer of custom picture-framing glass brands for the U.S., Canada and Europe markets. R&J will create and implement a comprehensive advertising and public relations program that comprises brand building, product advertising, collateral, media relations, corporate communications and trade-show support.Nestlé Canada began a sampling and promotional campaign early this month to officially introduce its Coffee Crisp candy bar in New York City. The campaign, led by Einson Freeman, a Paramus-based sales and promotion agency, is themed "How do you like your coffee New York?" The answer, "Crisp," is in keeping with the brand's advertising in Canada since the early 1950s. In support of the New York launch, half a million samples of Coffee Crisp will be distributed at locations throughout downtown New York. A 16-foot truck with full-wrapped graphics will serve as Coffee Crisp headquarters while displaying images of the candy bar on three sides.Alexander & Richardson was awarded the advertising and marketing duties for GusmerCellulo Co. in Mountainside. The client provides capital equipment and supplies to the brewery, wine and beverage industries. A&R also was assigned a new project from Merck-Medco to develop the company's Graphic Standards program and manual. In addition, A&R expanded its duties for the Glassman High Voltage account to include all media, nonmedia and Internet communications. The Warren marketing-communications agency also has begun working on special projects for a number of Mont Blanc divisions. MRB Public Relations in Red Bank was named one of the nation's top 100 tech-savvy small businesses in the December 2000 issue of Small Business Computing. PENNSYLVANIAWilkie Chevrolet/Buick/Subaru tapped Blue Bell-based MayoSeitz Media to be its media agency. The account, which bills approximately $750,000, was previously handled by Harmelin Media. MayoSeitz was also named the media agency for Robinson Luggage.The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority awarded Signature Communications of Philadelphia with a three-year advertising contract for the new Wildwoods Convention Center in Wildwood, N.J. NJSEA, a New Jersey state-funded organization, owns the new convention center, which is due to be completed in December. The contract began Jan. 1. During the past year, Signature worked to create an identity for the center through the "This Shore Isn't Business as Usual" campaign. Harmelin Media in Bala Cynwyd will handle the $3 million media account for Sheetz, a convenience-store chain based in Altoona. A privately owned, family- operated business, Sheetz has 245 stores throughout the mid-Atlantic region. The Neiman Group in Harrisburg is Harmelin's strategic partner on the account and will handle creative and point-of-purchase. Harmelin will also provide media planning and consulting for the Sinclair Broadcast Group's TV stations. The client is a diver sified broadcasting company in Maryland that currently owns or programs 61 stations in 40 markets. In addition, SunGard Business Continuity and Internet Services tapped Harmelin to handle its $4-5 million account. The agency will use business, B2B and IT magazines, along with spot and cable TV, to promote SunGard. An operating group of SunGard, the Business Continuity and Internet Services division offers its clients a range of enterprise-outsourcing services.NFI Interactive Logistics named The Weightman Group and The Technology Marketing Group as its agencies for advertising, marketing-communications and online marketing. NFI Interactive, based in Cherry Hill, N.J., is a provider of technology-driven, end-to-end third-party logistics and e-fulfillment services to both existing and emerging enterprises. The Technology Marketing Group is headquartered in Conshohocken. The Weightman Group, a full-service marketing-communications company, is located in Philadelphia.

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