Agency News

NEW YORK WPP Group, London, has acquired a 30 percent interest in High Co., a French marketing services and new technology group. The investment will strengthen WPP's presence in France and the rest of continental Europe. SFM Media, New York, has been awarded the media planning and buying accounts of MySimon, Santa Clara, Calif., as well as GT Interactive, New York. Billings for MySimon, which operates Web shopping service MySimon.com, are approximately $25 million. Billings for GT Interactive, an interactive entertainment product publisher and developer, were not disclosed. MySimon's creative agency is Bigelow & Partners, which handled the initial phase of mySimon's communications program. Frierson Mee + Kraft, New York, and Lot21 Interactive Advertising, San Francisco, were tapped by BeautyScene.com to provide strategic marketing, advertising and promotion services. Rhinoceros Visual Effects, New York, has created the special effects used in the new campaign for Revlon from Tarlow Advertising, also in New York. The spots, for Revlon's Colorstay Liquid Lip, show country singer Shania Twain using a magic wand to splash liquid onto the lips of a model. CMG Communications, New York, has launched a print and out-of-home advertising campaign for IntelliSpace, an Internet access provider servicing businesses. The campaign, titled "Pick-up Lines," uses lounge lizard-style one-liners, such as "If I said you had a nice body, would you hold it against me?" followed by "At least we have a quick line that's guaranteed to work." The tagline: "High-speed Internet access for any building or business." Media will include telephone kiosks as well as print ads in such publications as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Crain's New York Business, Real Estate New York and Real Estate Weekly. Billings are $2-3 million. Omnicom Group, New York, has launched a Web site to provide visitors with strategic and financial information about the company. OmnicomGroup.com replaces its previous site, Omnicomny.com. Balet & Albert, New York, has been selected by FashionMall.com to develop a branding and image campaign comprising corporate identification, sales support materials, print, television, Internet and outdoor advertising. Balet & Albert is the online shopping site's first advertising agency. Billings are $8 million. The Ad Store, New York, formed an alliance with England-based World Writers. The new venture, The Ad Store Worldwide, will serve as The Ad Store's creative arm for developing pan-European and global campaigns. The Ad Store Worldwide and The Ad Store Paris have already created a pan-European campaign for American Express. Spectacolor, New York, launched a 32-by-112 foot billboard for General Mills' limited edition "Millennios" brand of Cheerios. The billboard is located on the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York's Times Square. The sign, consisting of purple vinyl adhesive with a bright yellow border, is printed with the words, "Is your cereal bowl Y2K ready?" Creative Standards International, New York, announced the winners of the seventh annual Cresta International Advertising Awards honoring creative excellence in both consumer and business-to-business communications. New York agencies honored include Grey Advertising, which has won for Six Flags Theme Parks; McCann-Erickson, for MasterCard; and Dweck!, for Dial-a-Mattress. Rapp Collins Worldwide, New York, will provide members of its creative teams for lectures in New York University's course, "The Creative Process, Production and Offer Development." The class is part of NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Studies' master of science in direct marketing communications program. Rapp Collins has participated in the program for the past two years. NEW JERSEY DKB and Partners, Morristown, was tapped by Ricola, Morris Plains, to develop a TV campaign for its new Herbal Health dietary supplement line. DKB will begin filming later this month and ads will break late this year. Billings are worth $10 million. TMP Worldwide Direct, Mount Olive, has been tapped by Swarovski to implement a direct response marketing program. The Cranston, R.I.-based client manufactures decorative and tabletop crystal as well as jewelry and high-end optics. Winning Strategies Advertising and Public Relations, Mount Laurel, developed a consumer education campaign for New Jersey Energy Choice. The TV, radio and print ads focus on choosing an electric supplier and undergoing the process for switching. Two spots that broke last week will run through Oct. 4 on broadcast networks in New York and Philadelphia and on New Jersey cable stations. Billings are $13 million. PFS New Media, Totowa, has teamed with Technology New Jersey to host a Cyber Branding Seminar. The seminar will be held Oct. 19 at the DeVry Institute in North Brunswick. The Swatch Group, Weehawken, has launched a campaign for its Longines line of watches. Created by the Cap Agency in Switzerland and photographed by Michel Comte, the campaign is themed "Elegance is an attitude" and features images of such celebrities as racecar driver Pedro Diniz and models Aishwarya Rai and Tatjana Patitz, as well as the late Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. Princeton Video Image, Princeton, will create a virtual first-down line image during CBS Sports' national broadcasts of the National Football League's regular-season and playoff games, as well as during Super Bowl XXXIV. The line will appear to TV viewers as a bright line on the field, making the progress of the game more clear. PENNSYLVANIA Elkman/Alexander & Partners, Philadelphia, developed a print campaign for Coles House, a Philadelphia-based boarding house for women. The pro bono ads target women in the early stages of their careers. One shows a showerhead pouring water with the headline, "You supply the drive and ambition. We'll supply the heat and hot water." Another couples a 1950s-era photo of a woman in a business suit striding down a city street, holding a suitcase, with the copy, "You are strong. You are invincible. You need a place to stay." Both ads pose the question, "Struggling to make a name for yourself and make the rent?" and end with "Today, a place to live. Tomorrow, the world." Vox Medica, Philadelphia, will develop a health communications subsidiary, Galen HealthCom, to be based in Northern New Jersey. Steven Corwin will head the new unit as president. Timmons & Co., based in Doylestown, has implemented a newsletter program for Marvic Supply. The quarterly publication focuses on educating contractors on topics such as industry products, trends and technologies. The client operates offices in Doylestown, North Wales, Quakertown and Northern Philadelphia. Hallmark/Tassone, Pittsburgh, was named the advertising agency for Lens1st. The agency will develop marketing and media plans for the Toledo, Ohio-based contact lens company, to break next year. Parachute Creative, Morrisville, celebrated its second anniversary. The agency has grown more than 150 percent in the last six months to a client base of 14 accounts.

Brand Marketing

Agency News

Adweek Staff

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Adweek Staff