Sponsors to Showcase Latest on Grammys

NEW YORK Home Depot, Saturn and Heineken are among the advertisers that will break new TV work on CBS’ telecast of the 45th annual Grammy Awards this Sunday.

The show itself will also break new advertising ground, as “Christmas Song,” by Stevie Wonder and India.Arie, which played in holiday Target commercials created by Peterson Milla Hooks in Minneapolis, is up for a Grammy in the “pop collaboration with vocals” category.

Home Depot kicks off an estimated $350 million campaign with a 60-second spot from The Richards Group in Dallas that introduces “You can do it. We can help” as a tagline. The ad shows customers walking through a store and friendly sales personnel. A voiceover defines what Home Depot is with lines like, “It’s more than a store–it’s where you go when you need to know how.” [See separate story on Adweek‘s National News Web page].

Aflac will air a new spot featuring its spokesduck in Las Vegas. In the 30-second ad, two elderly women watch a wedding and wonder about the name of an insurance company (usually quacked by the Aflac duck). The camera pans around the feet of the women, as if trying to spot the duck. But he is nowhere to be found until the scene cuts to a Wayne Newton concert, where the duck is enjoying a rendition of “Danke Schoen.” The Kaplan Thaler Group in New York created the ad. “Ask about it at work” continues as the tagline.

Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco is breaking a new Saturn ad in both 30- and 60-second versions. Entitled “People Shopping,” people are seen wearing “For Sale” signs. In another scene, driverless cars are the contestants on a game show where the prize is a person. A third shot shows the Saturn lineup (L-series sedan and wagon, Vue sport utility and Ion sedan) moving slowly through a car dealership lot where people are standing in rows, like vehicles normally would be. An Ion finally stops in front of a young woman. She reacts joyfully, knowing she has been picked. Voiceover: “You look and you look. And then one day when you find the right car, it’s almost like the car finds you.” Tagline remains, “It’s different in a Saturn.”

Payless ShoeSource will run a new spot from Barkley Evergreen & Partners in Kansas City, Mo., that features TV talk-show host Star Jones, who became the brand’s spokesperson last March. The ad shows Jones in an elevator with another woman, who looks at her shoes, then asks as she’s walking out, “Are you wearing Payless?” Before she can finish the question, Jones answers, “Yes.” The spot continues the tag, “Look smart. Pay less.”

Heineken is breaking two new spots from its four-ad “It’s All About the Beer” campaign,” which began on Feb. 18. One spot, created by Vigilante in New York, is entitled “The Takeover.” It features hip-hop star Jay-Z and his new song, “Excuse Me Miss.” The 60-second spot shows the singer at home with his girlfriend, who is watching TV. She hands him her empty champagne flute. Instead of a getting her a refill, he grabs himself a Heineken and the remote and settles in to watch sports. Publicis in New York created the other 60-second ad, “Soul Mates.” It contrasts scenes of a man getting ready for work and that of a Heineken being bottled at a brewery. At the end of the workday, the two cross paths when the man walks into a bar and orders a Heineken.

Sirius Satellite Radio will introduce two new spots from the “It’s On” campaign by Crispin Porter + Bogusky in Miami. The first ad in the series broke Feb. 3 and featured music by hip-hop artist Dr. Octagon. An additional five spots, including the two breaking on the Grammys, showcase different musical genres—jazz, hard rock, electronica, dance and classical—and use computer animation to illustrate what the music might look like. The remaining two spots will break during the first quarter. Each spot credits the artist for the music heard in the ad.

An American Express representative confirmed the company would break a “number” of new spots created by Ogilvy & Mather in New York, but declined to give details. AmEx also will be running “video portraits” of famous musicians like the Dixie Chicks during the Grammys.