New Campaigns: Eastern

Client: Tetley USA, Shelton, Conn.
Agency: The Sawtooth Group, Woodbridge, N.J.
Creative Directors: Jon Harcharek, Teresa Herd
Copywriters: Sue Spiegel, Kristi Bridges
Art Directors: Matt White, Dave Herrick
Photographer: Neil Molinaro
The Sawtooth Group will launch a print, radio and out-of-home campaign this week to announce Medaglia d’Oro’s entry into the gourmet coffee category. The goal of the campaign is to broaden the reach of the upscale Medaglia d’Oro, which has sold an espresso brand since 1919. The new ground coffee is a line extension Tetley hopes more households will use on a more routine basis than the espresso. The client has found that consumers currently tend to drink espresso only on “special” occasions. The lone print ad is headlined, “Need an occasion for gourmet coffee? How about breakfast.” The tagline is: “Start your day with a cup of gourmet.” The ad will run in magazines such as Bon Appƒtit and Country Living. Buses and bus shelters in New York and Boston will soon display the product’s icon, an illustration of an old-fashioned coffee maker pouring its Italia Roast-flavored contents into a cup. The style of the graphic is “borrowed from 1940s poster art imagery,” said Eric Brody, principal of the Branding Place, Sawtooth’s in-house division which created the packaging. When the product debuts this week, it will compete with Folgers’ and Maxwell House’s gourmet coffee lines. Tetley USA supported its tea and coffee brands with $3-4 million last year. –Teresa Andreoli

Client: Putnam Investments, Boston
Agency: Margeotes/Fertitta + Partners, New York
Creative Director: Graham Turner
Copywriter: Robin Pollak
Art Director: Craig Mannion
Margeotes/Fertitta + Partners has taken a literal approach in a new campaign for Putnam Investments, themed “Truth in labeling.” A series of six print ads to run in The Wall Street Journal through 1998 has headlines such as, “This is an ad in The Wall Street Journal” and “This page is 15″ by 22 3/4″.” Copy in all ads states that Putnam’s managed funds “don’t move into different types of investments or suddenly switch strategies.” The tag: “A time-honored tradition in money marketing.” The spare, almost minimalist campaign is designed to flaunt a feature that competitors, such as Vanguard Group and CIBC Oppenheimer, rarely address. A client representative said, “Our message is that we manage our funds according to very specific guidelines,” a tactic Putnam considers its differentiating force. An increase in competitors’ ads was a factor prompting the campaign. Putnam spent $3 million on ads during the first eight months of 1997, according to Competitive Media Reporting. –T.A.

Client: Ecomat, Mamaroneck, N.Y.
Agency: GFS/Levinson Group, New York
Creative Director: Joel Levinson
Copywriter: Earl Carter
Art Director: Carlo Cantavero
Photographer: Ray Himelfarb
Just as the hazards of some dry cleaning chemicals have made the news, GFS/Levinson Group will break the first consumer campaign for Ecomat, a full-service laundromat franchisor which uses environmentally friendly solvents. Designed to raise awareness of seven sites in the tri-state area, one of three print ads in the campaign uses a visual of a noose-shaped wire hanger and a warning, “Dry cleaning may be hazardous to your health.” The copy goes on to state that some materials used at dry cleaners are possible carcinogens. The tag, “The non-toxic way to clean clothes,” was created by the Mamaroneck, N.Y.-based client, which became publicly traded last December. The campaign was prompted by Ecomat’s need to “bring in customers, attract franchisees and potential investors,” said the firm’s co-founder, Laine Wilder. Ads will break in The New York Times on Nov. 21, followed by other dailies, an endorsement on Howard Stern’s radio show and some out-of-home work. The client expects to spend about $1 million on the campaign through 1998. –T.A.