New Campaigns

Client: Avid, Englewood, Colo. Agency: Pierson Hawkins Advertising, Denver Creative Director: John Murphy Copywriter: Molly Worth Art Director: Brian Hawkins Having the right components can enhance the experience of riding a mountain bike. That's the message of a new campaign for Avid, maker of high-performance bicycle products such as brakes, brake levers and cables. A pair of print ads from Pierson Hawkins show action shots of bicycles equipped with Avid products. The ads are running through July in enthusiast magazines, including Mountain Bike, Mountain Biker and Mountain Biking. The campaign, Avid's first major branding effort, also includes catalog and in-store promotions, plus a Web site that was launched last month. "What technical specs?" asks one ad. "Count the number of bugs wedged in your teeth." A blurry color image in another ad shows a biker pedaling, with Avid's Accu-Push brakes in the foreground. The headline: "Any brake helps you stop. Great brakes help you fly." Brian Hawkins, Pierson Hawkins' chief creative officer, said the agency focused on how Avid products can make mountain biking even more fun. "We wanted to give this young brand strong competitive positioning so that both the original equipment market and the after-market sales would benefit," he said. The ads include a phone number and the Web site address (www.avidbike.com) for consumers to get more information about Avid. --Angela Dawson Client: GTE California, San Ramon Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Los Angeles Creative Director/Copywriter: Bill Stenton Art Director: Jessamine Tepper Director: Jesse Dylan GTE relaunches its digital wireless phone in California with a new campaign from Ogilvy & Mather. A 30-second TV spot titled "Liar" shows a man enjoying a clandestine beach getaway. Looking to keep his secret intact, he uses his GTE wireless phone to call friends, relatives and others to tell them of his whereabouts--anywhere but the beach. He calls in sick to his boss and tells a judge that an emergency has kept him from appearing in court. "GTE Wireless. Secure, private and so clear. No one can tell you're on a wireless phone," says a voiceover. There is no tagline. The campaign is designed to highlight the phone's features and make it stand out in the category, according to Brad Fornaciari, senior partner and group account director at O&M. "We focus on the clarity advantage and the fact that you can take this phone almost anywhere," he said. Print and outdoor ads began running in select California markets last month. GTE introduced its digital wireless phone in California about six months ago, but did not make a significant marketing push at the time. --Angela Dawson Client: 1-800-Wedding, Anaheim, Calif. Agency: Marketing And, Culver City, Calif. Creative Director/Copywriter: Kay Christianson Art Director: Jim Kelley Director: Lee Redmond, Alameda Filmworks, Burbank, Calif. Marketing And highlights a young man's anxiety over proposing in its first advertising for client 1-800-Wedding. The 30-second TV spot, which broke in Southern California this month, depicts a nervous groom-to-be, down on one knee, ring behind his back, attempting to ask for his girlfriend's hand in marriage. His girlfriend sits across from him, nervously waiting for him to pop the question, except he can't quite seem to get the words out. He stumbles through his speech, saying, "There's something I've been wanting to ask you ... You're a great girl ... I get a little tongue-tied." His impatient girlfriend eyes a waiting cell phone, which has the "1-800-Wedding" phone number attached to it. A voiceover pipes in that 1-800-Wedding can help couples find caterers, photographers and other wedding specialists. The key message: "Once he's proposed, give us a ring." The toll-free number then appears on the screen. "Timing is everything [when planning a wedding]," said agency creative director Kay Christianson. "The spot was a nice way to reinforce that [1-800-Wedding] is the first call you make." --Teresa Buyikian

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