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 Wed, Aug 5 1992 Date: Wed, 5 Aug 92 04:32:44 EDT Message-ID: 08-05 0000 DECISIONLINE: Advertising USA TODAY Update Aug. 5, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network OLYMPICS BRING IN 1,400 ADS: For every medal ceremony shown on NBC, there are at least a dozen commercials. By the time the games end Sunday, after 16 days of coverage, more than 1,400 ads will have aired. Some hit the mark, like Mark Lenzi on the diving board. Some waver, like Kim Zmeskal on the balance beam. All come into the Games with as much money, hope and careful strategy behind them as the athletes. (For more, see special Olympics package below.) DREAM TEAM TO WEAR REEBOK: The U.S. men's basketball team will wear Reebok warmup suits at the Olympic medals ceremony after all and will be allowed to open the collar so it covers the logo. The decision, which especially concerned Nike representatives Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley, was reached after a meeting between USA Basketball President Dave Gavitt and the U.S. Olympic Committee. USOC HAD MADE THREATS: The U.S. Olympic Committee has a contract with Reebok that all U.S. medal winners would wear the suit and threatened to stop any U.S. men's basketball player who refused from attending the ceremony. The USOC said the money from Reebok helps athletes in training. LAW FIRM DEBUTS ON TV: History was made last week when a major Seattle law firm - Williams, Kastner & Gibbs - joined in a pilot advertising program developed at a cost of more than $250,000 by R.W. Lynch Co. Inc., the nation's largest ad agency for attorneys only. The ad marked the first time a large, full-service law firm advertised on television. INTERPUBLIC MAY MAKE BUY: Interpublic Group of Cos., one of the biggest players in the $280 billion a year advertising industry, is considering buying Scali McCabe Sloves, a unit of troubled WPP Plc, said Philip Geier, Jr., Interpublic's chairman, Bloomberg Business News reports. Buying Scali McCabe would help Interpublic expand in France and Spain, Geier said. ATLANTA PAPERS DOING RESEARCH: The Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, is more than a sporting event for The Atlanta Constitution and The Atlanta Journal. Since Atlanta will host the 1996 Summer Games, the papers are reporting on the holding of the Games as well as the sports. While six of the newspaper's 25 staff members are covering the events, the others are covering business, marketing and general news. MCDINNERS NOT OUT, YET: Don't look for McPasta or McChicken dinners at McDonald's anytime soon. The fast-food hamburger chain, hoping to boost evening traffic with an expanded menu, had been testing four pasta and chicken dinners in 70 New York and Tennessee-area outlets since March. McDonald's said consumer response was good, but wouldn't say when - or if - either would be reintroduced. COORS CALLS FOUL: The latest issue brewing in the beer wars is a television commercial for Anheuser-Busch's Natural Light beer airing in the Northeast. Adolph Coors Co. has threatened to sue over the ad, which compares Natural Light to Coors Light. Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. said it intends to keep running the ad. The ad makes light of claims that Coors Light is made with Rocky Mountain spring water. L.A. TO INVEST MILLIONS IN ADS: The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau will roll out a $25-$30 million marketing campaign next year to help the city's recession-wracked tourist industry. In addition to the riots, the industry has been depressed even more by recent earthquakes. Meanwhile, the immediate target of post-riot advertising is local consumers. MIRINDA ARRIVES IN CALIF.: In a move to gain a bigger share, Pepsi is importing its popular Mexican soft drink line into Southern California. Mirinda, which comes in four flavors (apple, orange, strawberry and grapefruit), may be expanded to other U.S. markets if it's successful in California. The line is being supported by billboards, in-store sampling and point-of-purchase material. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON OLYMPICS: SEVEN MAKE UP PANEL: "When somebody on the parallel bars is doing 9s, you can't put advertising in there doing 2s and 3s," said Bernie Washington, creative director of Equinox Advertising. Seven advertising executives around the country who watched the Olympic broadcast at USA TODAY's request found more 2s than 10s or even 9s. BUD, LEE JEANS EARN GOLDS: The seven gave high marks to Budweiser's subtly humorous "Refrigerator" ad, loved Lee Jeans' series of funny ads for Easy Riders, and, for grace under pressure, praised Reebok's ads with Dave Johnson and Dan O'Brien, his fellow decathlete who failed to make the Olympic team. But many advertisers, the panel said, missed the opportunity, if not of a lifetime, at least of the quadrennium. COKE LEAVES WITH NO MEDALS: Coca-Cola, the biggest single advertiser, finished out of the medals with the panel. And in the "not another triple flip" department, ad execs complained about excessive letterboxing - strips of black across the top and bottom of the TV screen that create movie-screen proportions - used by Coke, Nike and American Express. ADVERTISERS NEED DIVERSITY: For advertisers, the Super Bowl is to the Olympics as the 100-yard dash is to the marathon. And for success, the panel said advertisers must do the following: Tell more than one story; mix it up; and target ads to viewers and events. (End of package.) 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