Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.ads From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: ads Thu, Jul 23 1992 Date: Thu, 23 Jul 92 04:33:09 EDT Message-ID: 07-23 0000 DECISIONLINE: Advertising USA TODAY Update July 23, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network SOVIET TROLLEYS CARRYING ADS: For Western advertisers entering new markets in the former Soviet bloc, painted trolley cars have become literal advertising vehicles. Mattel, Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds and M&M:Mars have painted the electric trams that crisscross Warsaw, Moscow, Budapest and Prague in all-over ads touting Camel and Marlboro cigarettes, M&Ms, and Barbie. TROLLEY ADS TO LAST A YEAR: Trolleys that run through markets in the former Soviet bloc are a highly visible, often-seen medium, says Elliot Rittenband of TDI International, the outdoor-advertising company that is painting ads on the trams. The Soviet Bloc is one part of the world where TV advertising is still in its infancy. The ads, in shiny airplane paint, run a year and cost $10,500 to $12,500. ABDUL DANCES WITH KELLY: In a new Diet Coke ad, computers have animated Gene Kelly's 47-year-old image, sending it dancing across the TV screen with Paula Abdul. In the ad, Abdul also trades quips with Groucho Marx and shares a soda with Cary Grant. The action combines scene from five vintage movies - "On the Town," "Anchors Aweigh," "Duck Soup," "The Awful Truth" and "Indiscreet." NO MAGIC LEFT IN CONVERSE: Magic Johnson wants to leave Converse, the athletic shoe he's endorsed since 1979. "I want to go to another level and they can't take me there," says Johnson, who is playing for the U.S. Olympic basketball team, in Converse shoes. Converse says it hasn't heard from Johnson, who is playing for the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team. NETWORKS PLAN COMPETITION: The Summer Olympics begin Friday on NBC, but the other networks aren't ready to give up the ratings gold. Nielsen Media Research spokeswoman Jo LaVerde says the Olympics tend to appeal to slightly older viewers, those between the ages of 25-54. The other networks are countering with programs to attract younger audiences and are running first episodes of some top-rated sitcoms. TBS TACKLES ABORTION: At a recent meeting with TV critics, Ted Turner said he allowed commercials opposing abortion on his Superstation TBS even though he favors a woman's right to abortion. On Sept. 21, TBS will air three documentaries - two of which have an abortion rights bent. One deals with RU-486, the controversial abortion pill that is banned in the USA; another has clergy discussing abortion rights. CNN SHOWN IN MOSCOW: Turner Broadcasting is a partner in Russia's first commercial television station. Turner now airs two hours of CNN programming on Moscow's Channel 6, with the Moscow Independent Broadcasting Co. Tuesday, the two announced they'll build the channel into a full-fledged station. Programs will be culled from Turner's film library as well as CNN, Turner sports and cartoons. COORS ADS CRITICIZED: Adolph Coors' ad campaign on illiteracy among women is drawing criticism. Cynics say the ads might be just trying to sell beer to women. Of the USA's nearly 80 million beer drinkers, only 31 million are women. But Coors says it has supported such programs for two years. The ads, in women's magazines the next two months, say one of five U.S. women cannot read. DEMOCRATS PLAN NASTY ADS: Expect supporters of Democrats to match independent ads attacking Bill Clinton, says a top Democratic consultant. Victor Kamber, head of a group called Americans for Change, wants to raise $1 million for ads urging Bush's defeat. "We will be tough," said Kamber. "I'm just tired of Democrats being beaten up and losing." TEENS ARE TOP SUMMER AUDIENCE: In a recent survey of 400 advertising and media executives, teen-agers were found to be the easiest demographic target to reach during the summer, while men were most difficult. The survey, conducted by Spot Quotations & Data Inc., a TV and radio cost-tracking company, found sitcoms and classic-rock stations to be the programming that consumers tune in to most during the summer. WUSA LENDS A HAND: WUSA-TV helped Irving's Sport Shops of Washington, D.C. advertise on television for the first time in the company's 65-year history. WUSA invited Irving's vendors to visit Washington to learn why they should invest their national dollars in Irving's 22 sports shops. Over $150,000 was raised for the market that will give Irving's an impact level to ensure success. PRESS-GAZETTE SEEKS ADS: The Green Bay (Wis.) Press-Gazette has an new vehicle for ad placement advertisers. The newspaper is distributing its 32-page Answer Book, with information about the Green Bay area, and has a target goal of 750 inches of advertising. The book will be delivered beginning Sept. 2 to the paper's subscribers. An additional 5,000 copies will be sent to area newcomers. Advertising Editor: Kate Coughlin. (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