New Campaigns: Midwest

Client: Polaris Industries, Minneapolis
Agency: Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis
Creative Directors: Jim Nelson, Kerry Casey
Art Director: Brian Kroening
Copywriter: Glen Wachowiak
Is winter too early to begin thinking about riding the waves in a personal watercraft? Polaris and Carmichael Lynch think not. In a series of print ads breaking in the first quarter of 1998, the companies promote different aspects of the personal watercraft’s engines in lighthearted ways. For example, a photo of two children waving from a dock is turned sideways to highlight the vehicle’s cornering abilities. “We like to get out as early as we can. February and March is the peak selling season” for personal watercraft, said account director Camie Brown. -Aaron Baar

Client: Kmart Corp., Troy, Mich.
Agency: Don Coleman Advertising, Southfield, Mich.
Creative Director: Juan Roberts
Art Director: Kevin Stone
Copywriter: Reshounn Foster
Producer: Bob Long
Don Coleman Advertising’s first effort for Kmart Corp. is targeted at an African American audience, but the energetic TV spot will have mainstream appeal as well, said Don Coleman, agency president and founder. “The message is generally in sync with the female Kmart shopper,” Coleman said. The spot, “That’s better,” features an enthusiastic African American woman who chronicles the changes at the remodeled and christened Big Kmart stores. Both 30- and 60-second versions of the spot air in a dozen urban markets nationwide. -Tanya Gazdik

Client: The Carpet and Rug Institute, Dalton, Ga.
Agency: Leo Burnett, Chicago
Executive Creative Director/Art Director: Jonathan Moore
Copywriter: Steve Romanenghi
Executive Producer: Glant Cohen
Music: Ad Music, Burbank, Calif.
Director: Bruce Dowad, Dowad Associates, Hollywood, Calif.
The mood of a room is influenced by the coverings on the floor, according to this first advertising effort for the Carpet and Rug Institute. The trade association plans to spend $100 million over the next four years to drive home the tagline, “Carpet. It just feels better.”
The campaign began last week with TV spots during prime time broadcast network programming. One 30-second spot shows family members reading, playing, watching TV or just relaxing in rooms made more comfortable by the rugs or carpeting on the floors. A 15-second spot is even more to the point: A man snoozing on a sofa rolls off onto carpeting so comfy he just keeps sleeping. Consumer and trade print advertising will augment the campaign beginning in January. -Scott Hume