New Campaigns

Client: Dana Perfumes, Stamford, Conn. Agency: Lotas Minard Patton McIver, New York Creative Partner: Karen McIver Creative Director: Kristin Moore-Gantz Copywriter: LaRonda Davis Art Director: Suzan Merritt Agency Producer: Laura Lagatta Director/Photographer: Diego Uchitel Director of Photography: Mark Shumacher Lotas Minard's challenge in introducing the fragrance Shades was to distinguish it from its established older sister, Navy, while reaching the same target market. To that end, the agency's first work for Shades is markedly different to that of Navy. The $6 million campaign, which breaks in April, positions the citrus and floral perfume as a lighter fragrance choice for women aged 14-24. A TV spot features partially blurred images of women in surreal, other-worldly settings, wearing exaggerated makeup, wild, upswept hair, and flowing chiffon and sequined clothing. With new age music in the background, a sultry voiceover tells viewers that the desired state of "cool" lies between "confidence and opulence," and between "the obvious and the obscure." The tagline oozes: "Cool is just Shades away." Print ads with similar images break in April issues of women's magazines. The client believes Shades' main rivals will include Charlie, Sunflowers and White Linen. The agency's work for Navy (a $4 million print campaign which broke in October 1997) utilizes straightforward photographs of sophisticated people in sleek clothing. The tagline is: "You're wearing Navy and it shows." Lotas Minard was tapped to develop the Shades brand, including creating its name and packaging, in May 1997. --Sloane Lucas Client: K'nex, Hatfield, Pa. Agency: Griffin Bacal, New York Group Creative Director/Copywriter: Mindy Rosengarten Associate Creative Director/Art Director: Karen Abada Director: Kevin Dole Griffin Bacal extends the existing positioning of construction toy maker K'nex in a new TV campaign that uses fast music, computer animation and plenty of action. The first 30-second spot, which broke last week, highlights the client's Rip 'N Go Racers, Dragsters and Mean Machines. The spot, aimed at 5- to 12-year-old boys, opens with a computer-animated pit crew working on a race car. The scene shifts to live action of two boys racing the cars. Thumping music plays up the "Power of K'nex" theme. The second spot, which breaks in March, features the same jingle, but focuses on the versatility of K'nex products generally, with scenes of boys building dinosaurs and Ferris wheels. Both spots will run during children's programming on network, cable and syndicated television. The high-tech animation "takes the product and brings it to life," said shop president Paul Kurnit. "Here what you get is the fantasy," he added, "not just 'look what I built,' and then you sit back and have nothing more to do with it." Griffin Bacal won the $8 million account in May 1997, following a review. K'nex claimed to have had an 11.5 percent share of the U.S. construction toy market in November 1997, while Lego had 65 percent. --Rob Lenihan Client: CDnow, Jenkintown, Pa. Agency: Hampel/Stefanides, New York Associate Creative Director: Kirk Mosel Senior Copywriter: Ken Lewis Producer: Jean Muchmore Director: Neil Tardio Production Company: Fahrenheit Films, New York In an attempt to give a "faceless" product a distinct personality, online music store CDnow's first national campaign features fictitious pitchman Ian Plimsoll, "the world's greatest roadie." In one of five 30-second TV spots, all filmed in a style reminiscent of the spoof "rockumentary" This Is Spinal Tap, Plimsoll is interrupted from his backstage work by an unseen CDnow representative who introduces him to the idea of shopping for music online. Plimsoll responds with the revelation that the service would allow him to "discover music naked like Woodstock dƒjˆ vu." The tagline is: "The online music store." The other spots contain riffs in a similar vein. "We wanted to reach the avid music fan, aged 30-plus, who's too busy to shop for music," said Kirk Mosel, associate creative director at Hampel/Stefanides. The first spot in the $10 million campaign broke last week; the remainder will roll out through February. Many online music stores are cropping up on the Internet. Tower Records has created an online outlet, and Amazon.com, the cyber bookseller, will introduce a music store online in the near future. --Hank Kim

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