Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.ads From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: ads Thu, Mar 5 1992 Date: Thu, 5 Mar 92 05:55:52 EST Message-ID: 03-05 0000 DECISIONLINE: Advertising USA TODAY Update March 5, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network NBC LOOKING TO FUTURE: NBC Entertainment President Warren Littlefield, who has purged "Matlock," "In the Heat of the Night" and "Night Court" from his fall lineup, says he had to "make room for the future." He's particularly high on a sitcom from the producers of "Northern Exposure," which has yet to be named and new versions of "Route 66" and "Journey to the Center of the Earth." GM RUNNING ADS IN JAPAN: As if trying to to convince Americans to buy General Motors cars over Japanese models was not hard enough, GM is now trying to convince Japanese to buy its cars. The company is running full- page ads in seven Japanese newspapers comparing the fuel efficiency of its Cadillac Seville to the Infiniti Q45. (For more, see special Japan package below.) JOE ISUZU LOSES JOB: Overhauled ads for Isuzu's Trooper swap Joe Isuzu's sharp humor for gentle fun. "The first thing we had to do was kill him," says Rich Silverstein of ad agency Goodby Berlin and Silverstein, which won Isuzu's business from Della Femina McNamee in August. Joe, the salesman who fibbed while subtitles noted, "He's lying," sent awareness of Isuzu skyrocketing. But the concept didn't sell cars. ISUZU ADS TRY TO BE REALISTIC: New Isuzu Trooper ads, which begin March 15, put the truck in realistic situations. One schmaltzy spot shows a father and little boy driving through snow. In another, a couple en route to a party drives into wilder and wilder terrain because the hopelessly lost husband, in classic male tradition, refuses to ask directions. Isuzu says it will devote 40% of its ad budget to the campaign. `HAPPY DAYS' DOES WELL: A lot of people tuned in to see Richie, Fonzie and the gang one more time Tuesday night. ABC's "Happy Days Reunion" Tuesday night was the second highest-rated TV special so far this season. It drew 31% of the viewers during the time slot. KILLER BOOSTS WINFREY'S RATINGS: Convicted killer Betty Broderick gave Oprah Winfrey her show's second best rating in its six-year history Monday. Broderick shot her ex-husband and his new wife in 1989. The top-rated "Oprah Winfrey Show" was Nov. 15, 1988, which revealed her post-diet figure. QUAKER STATE MUST PULL ADS: A Federal judge has ordered Quaker State to stop broadcasting a commercial that claims its 10W-30 motor oil protects better against start-up engine wear. Evidence introduced at a hearing indicated that Quaker State ignored test results provided by its own supplier. U.S. District Judge Charles S. Haight Jr. ruled the tests contradict claims made in the Quaker State commercial. LA AD CAMPAIGN UNVEILED: An advertising campaign to promote the advantages of doing business in Los Angeles was unveiled Wednesday. The "L.A. Means Business" ad campaign, created BBDO of Los Angeles, consists of 14 radio and T.V. spots and hundreds of billboards. All of the broadcast and print time and space will be donated by the participating media outlets. MISTAKE COSTS $6 MILLION: Orange County's plans to add $3 to $5 to its fee on monthly fee to monthly water bills has been put on hold until 1993 due to an ad mistake by The Orlando Sentinel. By law, the billing change had to be advertised four straight weeks by March 1, but the newspaper missed two publication dates due to a computer glitch. The fee was expected to raise $6 million next year. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON JAPAN: GM WANTS TO BREAK MYTHS: With ads in Japan that compare the Cadillac Seville to the Infiniti Q45, General Motors says it wants "to help break some of the myths about General Motors cars in Japan: That they're big vehicles that get low gas mileage," says spokesman John Pekarek. Comparative ads are rare in Japan. ADS COMPARE FUEL EFFICIENCY: The GM ads in Japan say the Cadillac Seville gets 16.2 miles per gallon in the city and 25.4 mpg on the highway, vs. 16.2 mpg city and 22.3 mpg highway for the Infiniti. Future ads will compare size, price and quality. GM sold 10,300 cars in Japan last year, up 11% from 1990. Only a few hundred were Cadillac Sevilles. COMPETING ADS UPSET JAPANESE: Ads showing competing products are frowned on in Japan. Pepsi-Cola caused a stir last year when it showed an ad in which rap star Hammer breaks into "Feelings" after sipping a Coke. GM says its ads will intrigue, not annoy. "The willingness to take a look at GM products in Japan is increasing. I know people are recognizing the quality is better," GM's John Pekarek says. (End of package.) Advertising Editor: Ed Kelleher. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM