Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.ads,americast.usa-today.ads From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: ads Mon, Oct 12 1992 Date: Mon, 12 Oct 92 04:44:58 EDT Message-ID: 10-12 0000 DECISIONLINE: Advertising USA TODAY Update Oct. 12, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network KMART ADS TARGET WOMEN: Kmart has overhauled itself into the No. 2 retailer, but its new TV ads take on perhaps its toughest task yet: Convincing women its clothes are fashionable. "We've got them coming, now we've got to get them to broaden what they would likely buy on their next trip," says Michael Wellman, Kmart's vice president of marketing. The ads will not hide Kmart's reputation as anathema to fashion. (For more, see special Kmart package below.) GMC TRUCK PLUNGES IN NEW AD: Product demonstrations are tough to pull off in this skeptical age, but new ads from GMC Truck add a tongue-in-cheek touch to an eye-popping event: A truck doing a bungee jump off a bridge. GMC dropped a Jimmy SLT sport utility truck off the New River Gorge bridge in West Virginia, attached by the trailer hitch to a bungee cord. GMC has 7.4% of the light-duty truck market. NEW SPOKESMAN IS NO NERD: When Burger King launched its short-lived spokescharacter "Herb" in 1986, it learned that nerds don't sell. So for its latest ads, the company turned to the hippest medium around and hired Dan Cortese, host of MTV Sports. In a backward baseball cap, he appears in fast-paced "BK TeeVee" ads interviewing customers and employees. CORTESE STRESSES FUN: Burger King's new ad personality, Dan Cortese, "is not a celebrity endorser. He's not even an endorser," says Sid Feltenstein, Burger King vice president. "He's somebody who has a knack for bringing out the best in people in a way that's fun." The new ads highlight the chain's new dinner table service, plus unique points: Flame-broiling and have-it-your-way burgers. TV HITS THE WHITE HOUSE: Morning TV will go inside the White House twice this week. Tuesday, "Today's" Katie Couric visits with Barbara Bush as the presidential home celebrates its 200th anniversary. Wednesday, ABC's "Home" moves in for the day. "Home" will feature a live audience asking questions of the first lady. TV SHOW BOOSTS SPECIAL SECTION: The Californian, a Salinas, Calif., newspaper, recently devised a program that has increased single copy sales. The advertising sales staff decided to tie in its Back-to-School special section with the Fox network's "Beverly Hills 90210." The section was sold with a wraparound strip featuring a full color photo of the show's cast. The promotion provided $6,000 in revenue. BUSH ADS KEEP ATTACKING: A new ad from President Bush's campaign premiered Sunday. The ad is an attack on Democrat Bill Clinton and the supposed absence of trust he has with the electorate. This is the fourth negative ad in a row from the Bush campaign and the first that deals entirely with the question of Clinton's character. But polls say that more voters disbelieve the Bush ads than believe them. KRAFT PRESSURES FIRM: D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles is facing heightened pressure from mega-client Kraft General Foods, according to Advertising Age. The scrutiny appears to center on four brands that represent about $36 million in 1991 Kraft General Foods billings: Louis Rich meat products, Lender's frozen bagels, Entenmann's baked goods and Boboli pizza shells. CAMEL CREATOR SUES RJR: The creator of Joe Camel filed a lawsuit in Houston last week against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. Nicholas Price, a British illustrator, charged that RJR paid him $10,000 for rights to the spokescharacter in a 1988 test campaign, and than continued to use it without further payment. Price is seeking a share of RJR's profits from Camel since Jan. 1, 1989. QUAKER OATS NEEDS AN AGENCY: Quaker Oats is without an agency for its $8 million pan-European Gatorade account, says Advertising Age. Lowe group resigned the business due to a potential conflict with accounts it and sister Interpublic Group of Cos. agencies McCann-Erickson Worldwide and Lintas:Worldwide handle for Coca-Cola Co. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON KMART: ADS WILL STRESS FASHION: New Kmart ads will attempt to convince women its clothes are fashionable. The ads, from Calet Hirsch & Ferrell, continue the understated tone of the company's vignette advertising for its stores. They feature businesswomen:moms and don't hide Kmart's history as punchline to fashion shoppers. "Kmart doesn't have clothes like that, do they?" asks one admiring woman in an ad. KMART ADS ARE MODEST: "We didn't say, `Hey you'll find Armani at Kmart,"' says agency vice-chairman Peter Hirsch. "All we're asking women in these commercials is, we understand you, why don't you just give us another try." The ads mimic the look and tone of such programs as "Sisters," "Designing Women" and "L.A. Law" - where the ads will run with thirtysomething characters and sharp dialogue. HUMOR ENTERS ADS: "I knew she was here," one woman says of another in one ad, "I saw her broom in the parking lot." Hirsch says that for "busy, budget-conscious moms," Kmart's target, taking time to watch those programs "is something for herself, like shopping for fashion." (End of package.) Advertising Editor: Martin Baucom. (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. 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