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CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR

PRODUCT RED

CLIENT: Gap, Inc.

AGENCY: A Squared Group

The promotions agency A Squared Group pulled off an amazing feat last year — on short notice.

Its client, Gap Inc., was one of a number of brands to license the logo for Product RED, a celebrity-driven charity to raise money for the Global Fund to help HIV/AIDS sufferers in Africa. And the retailer wanted to make a big splash.

There was one problem: There was less than a month to go before launch.

No problem. The agency wrapped the six-story flagship store in red vinyl that displayed words used in the campaign — like INSPI(RED) and EMPOWE(RED).

The inside of the store was also crimson, and it featured a two-tier display that rose 20 feet into the area. This was covered with mannequins dressed in Gap’s RED collection.

“We created a canvas for them that was a representation of their commitment to the RED cause and really showed that Gap was willing to express that in a larger-than-life way,” says Amy Cotteleer, CEO of A Squared Group.

The display became the backdrop for a taping with Oprah that aired as part of her Oct. 13 show.

A Squared Group also won the Best Creative Pro Awards category and Best Cause-Based Promotion.

“There were incredible hurdles,” Cotteleer says. “We had less than a month to get all these approvals and at every turn they could have told us no. We just kept going back and saying here’s why you have to say yes.”

Gap, which reportedly spent $25 million marketing RED, said it was contributing half of the proceeds from the collection — after marketing costs.

category #1 best Multidiscipline Campaign

VERB YELLOWBALL

CLIENT: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

AGENCY: Arc Worldwide

For the past six years, the VERB Yellowball campaign has been dedicated to encouraging kids and “tweens” to live active, healthy lifestyles of play and physical activity. This year, 500,000 yellow bouncy balls were unleashed into the world with the goal of inspiring kids to find, play with and pass them on to others. The balls were distributed to 6,500 middle schools, as well as to various summer camps, minor league baseball games and local festivities. More than 5 million kids participated. A unique code and instructions appearing on each ball sent kids to a microsite where they could blog about what they did and track the location of their Yellowball. The campaign is credited with increasing physical activity 105% at the schools, including 14.9 million hours of physical activities using Yellowballs.

#2 Best Advertising in Support of a Promotion

PLUNDER A BAG OF M&MS WHITE CHOCOLATE PEARLS

CLIENT: Masterfoods, USA

AGENCY: Thomas J. Paul

Taking advantage of the correlation between candy lovers and moviegoers, the candy marketer tied into the third installment of Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” to introduce M&M’s candies White Chocolate Pearls. In addition, Milk Chocolate Gems and Peanut Chocolate Captain’s Gold were created in shades of gold (with pirate imprints). M&M’s Minis magically changed colors from sea green to gold. The promotion surpassed objectives by more than 300% with $81 million in U.S. retail sales. To hype the promotion, packaging and advertising carried M&M’s that looked like members of Captain Jack Sparrow’s crew.

#3 Best Use of Event Marketing (Five or Less Venues)

MEOW MIX HOUSE

CLIENT: Del Monte Foods

AGENCY: Grand Central Marketing, Inc.

For more than 30 years, Meow Mix has been one of the top-selling cat food brands in the U.S. Tapping into the success of the “Meow Mix House” tour, a reality show was created starring cats that appeared on Animal Planet in 10 three-minute episodes. Ten homeless felines from shelters across the U.S. flew to New York, where they lived in a custom-built house in midtown Manhattan for 10 days in July. The cats competed in a series of challenges, including a climb-a-thon and a purring contest. All of the cats were adopted into permanent homes. The House, which opened on Manhattan’s Madison Avenue, averaged daily 1,000 visitors, who could vote for their favorite felines. Through the event’s Web site, people were able to observe the cats 24 hours per day. The site received more than 2.5 million hits, and more than 250,000 consumers voted online.

#4 Best Use of Event Marketing (More Than Five Venues)

PROUD TO BE A BED HEAD

CLIENT: Hampton Hotels

AGENCY: Hall Event Group, a Draftfcb company

Hampton Hotels looked for a unique way to advertise that their new comfy beds were better than its competitors. The campaign was designed around visual proof — bed head — that a person had slept soundly and comfortably. In addition to TV spots and print ads, a team of bed heads hit the streets to distribute branded goodies and entertain passersby with crazy antics and hilarious hair. A companion Web site, www.hamptonbedhead.com, invited visitors to upload a picture of their own bed head to win prizes. Online reservations grew by 30.1%, generating an incremental $39 million in revenue.

#5 Best Vehicle-Based Experiential Campaign

GILLETTE FUSION START THE REACTION TOUR

CLIENT: Procter & Gamble/Gillette

AGENCY: Pierce

To one up its competitor Schick, which had just launched its four-blade Quattro razor, Gillette debuted the five-blade Gillette Fusion. A mobile tour featuring two units would help spread the word. Upon entering the trailer, brand ambassadors presented visitors with an all-access pass. The scan-able cards allowed consumers to register their e-mail addresses to receive future promos. An interactive product display let people see the new Fusion. Visitors could have their photos taken, and 3-D animation showed what they would look like sporting different facial hairstyles. More than 13,000 individuals tried out the self-shave station. The 2006 Fusion launch earned record sales. The brand finished within the top five new consumer packaged goods among the more than 1,000 products launched last year nationally.

#6 Best Use of Consumer-Generated Content

DORITOS CRASH THE SUPER BOWL

CLIENT: Frito-Lay

AGENCY: Millsport

Coming to grips with the reality that it was slowly losing relevancy among its core consumers, Doritos sought to boost awareness among its target market — 16- to 24-year olds. It tapped into the consumer-generated content craze by offering people the chance to create their own 30-second spot showing their passion for Doritos. Two ads, unedited, aired during the Super Bowl. Those commercials, along with the other top five finalists, then began running as part of a national campaign. A panel of judges picked the finalists, who each received a $10,000 cash prize and became spokespersons for Doritos. The public voted for their favorite, along with the chance to instantly win NFL gear. The 1,070 spots entered were viewed more than 3 million times. The site, www.crashthesuperbowl.com, garnered 2.5 million page views over four months and had approximately 925,000 unique visitors.

#7 Best Cause-Based Promotion

GAP (PRODUCT) RED LAUNCH

(See overall winner, p. 44)

#8 Best Sponsorship or Tie-In Campaign

FRAG DOLLS TEAM SPONSORSHIP

CLIENT: Ubisoft

AGENCY: In-house

Video game publisher Ubisoft sponsored an all female team of professional gamers called Frag Dolls to target the male hardcore gamer. The Frag Dolls were incorporated into an integrated marketing campaign that included online, event, PR and partnership components. They participated in more than 30 events and competed in professional, lifestyle, industry and partner gaming events. A Web site, which had received an average 50,000 monthly unique visitors, featured the girls’ blogs, podcasts (20,500 downloads), video interviews with game developers, a forum, photographs, calendar of events and playing session information. The online component also included a MySpace page that drew 13,000 friends in three months. A reality TV show to recruit two new Frag Dolls was created around the girls with MTV’s Gametrailers video game Web site, www.gametrailers.com. The five episodes received 60,000 downloads. Viewers could vote online for their favorite. Through a partnership with Comcast, which provided funds for Ubisoft to create exclusive content for their Web site, the Frag Dolls appeared at events and endorsed Comcast’s broadband product.

#9 Best Use of Targeted Direct Mail or E-maiL

SUNSILK GET HAIRAPY

CLIENT: Unilever

AGENCY: OgilvyAction

The North American launch of Sunsilk was Unilever’s largest hair care product launch ever. The agency used an edgy campaign, dubbed Hairapy, to target 25-year-old women. The Hairapy Guys were created to act as “guy girlfriends” who gave straight talk to girls about their hair problems. Teams of three Hairapists visited 50 cities, hitting places where girlfriends are known to hang out, like bars and beaches. Unilever also distributed millions of $1-off gift cards through tip-ins in People, Cosmopolitan, Jane and Lucky. It also used door hangers and pink-branded matchboxes handed out at bars that cautioned that dry hair is “extremely flammable.” In addition, a CD-shaped direct mail piece was mailed to more than 1 million users of competitive products. And GetHairapy.com was advertised on posters in bathroom stalls, bar napkins, martini glasses and in mall kiosks. Finally, a two-to-three minute mini-movie was produced about the life of a 25-year-old female and aired for 13 weeks on TBS following “Sex and the City,” a popular show among the target group. A sponsored tag at the end of the show pushed girls online.

#10 Best Use of Games, Contests, Sweepstakes

MY GRAMMY MOMENT

CLIENT: The Recording Academy

AGENCY: In-house

The goal was to create excitement and anticipation for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards telecast. In addition, the campaign sought to increase ratings among 18- to 34-year-old viewers by 10%. Beginning in December 2006, the Recording Academy’s My Grammy Moment encouraged aspiring singers to record themselves singing from a pre-approved list of Grammy-winning songs. The 60-second video was to be uploaded to music.yahoo.com/mygrammymoment. The winner would receive a spot singing alongside Justin Timberlake at the show. Following review from a series of VIP Grammy singers, songwriters and producers, the 12 best submissions were posted on the site. The general public then voted. Two months later, prior to the kickoff of Super Bowl XLI, the three finalists were revealed. The winner was announced live during the telecast. Total viewership jumped from 17 million in 2006 to 20.6 million in 2007, representing an 18% increase.

#11 Most Innovative Communication Strategy

ALTOIDS CURIOUS & ORIGINAL CHOCOLATE SHOPPE

CLIENT: Altoids

AGENCY: Gigunda Group, Inc.

Altoids’s aim in launching Dark Chocolate Dipped Mints was to seduce its own fan base into trying a new flavor. To do that, Gigunda Group staged pop-up shops the week before Valentine’s Day. Dark chocolate wallpaper, eclectic furnishings and risqué art set the mood. Brand ambassadors were punked out with tattoos, piercings and a kaleidoscope of hair colors. About 750,000 samples were distributed in seven days across five markets: Shops opened in The Village in New York, Lincoln Park in Chicago and Coconut Grove in Miami, where 20,900 people visited from Feb. 8-14, 2007 for an average 28-minute visit. Citywide sampling also took place in Seattle and San Francisco.

#12 Best Use of Web-Based or Wireless-Based Promotion

MY GRAMMY MOMENT

(See #10 Best Use of Games, Contests, Sweepstakes, this page)

#13 Best Multicultural/Ethnic Campaign

VH1’S HIP-HOP HONORS WEEK 2006

CLIENT: VH1

AGENCY: In-house

In a busy city known for variety, VH1 pulled out all the stops to promote New York City’s roots to the hip-hop world. With a $250,000 budget, the network launched a week-long takeover of hip-hop-themed celebrations and events leading up to its Third Annual “Hip-Hop Honors Show.” Each of the six-day events tied to the genre, including Education Day, Restaurant Day, Music and Culture Day, Sports Day, Fashion and Shopping Day and Hip- Hop Honors Day. VH1 spread the word through print, TV, radio, online marketing and word-of-mouth messaging. Partners distributed posters and scratch-and-win tickets for prizes to keep the momentum going. Online, the network took to hip-hop, New York and basketball blogs to hype up the show. And the effort paid off. “VH1 Hip-Hop Honors” was the highest-rated and most-watched event in the network’s “Hip-Hop Honors” franchise. The event drew 1.8 million viewers, a 29% increase from last year.

#14 Best Campaign Targeting a Micro Audience

AXE CLIX

CLIENT: Unilever AXE

AGENCY: GMR Marketing LLC

To promote its new fragrance, Clix, Axe looked to leverage the appeal of pop culture icon Ludacris and rap label Island Def Jam. For this launch, Axe, a brand known for its sexy and humorous ads, paired the product with a mechanical clicker showing guys how they could keep track of the number of girls they clicked with after using Axe. The brand integrated the clicker concept into a Ludacris music video called “Money Maker.” A separate video shows the artist clicking and counting different girls on the set of his music video, where Axe items were also integrated. The company took over Ludacris’ tour bus, wrapping it with Clix images and turning it into the Axe Clix Room where the rapper greeted fans and conducted interviews. To keep consumers engaged, co-branded hip hop towels were handed out as premiums. Brand ambassadors also distributed clickers with scented cards at fraternities and dorms at 28 campuses. The campaign moved the needle for the product. Brand sales were up $700,000 in the anti-perspirant/deodorant category and $300,000 in shower gel within four months of the launch.

#15 Best Campaign Generating Brand Awareness and Trial Recruitment

CHARMIN NYC RESTROOM EXPERIENCE

CLIENT: Procter & Gamble

AGENCY: Gigunda Group, Inc.

Times Square, though home to an endless array of restaurants and other attractions, does lack one necessity: a sufficient amount of public restrooms. Building off this observation, Charmin launched its NYC Restroom Experience for the holiday season, opening the first pop-up, 12,000 sq. ft. restroom in the center of Times Square. Offering 20 luxurious and immaculately clean bathrooms with elegant molding, porcelain toilets, electric fireplaces, hardwood floors, plush carpeting and valet stroller parking, Charmin had tourists and New York natives rushing to the area to “go in style.” Thanks to its promotional campaign, which received airtime on almost every major TV network and exposure in almost every newspaper, Charmin more than doubled its marketing goals with 465 million media impressions and 10,400 visits per day.

#16 Best Campaign Generating Brand Volume

PROUD TO BE A BED HEAD

(See #4 Best Use of Event Marketing — More Than Five Venues, p. 45)

#17 Best Loyalty Program

KELLOGG’S MOVIE LOVER’S COLLECTION DVD CONTINUITY

CLIENT: Kellogg’s

AGENCY: Brigandi & Associates, Inc.

Kellogg’s wanted to improve purchase frequency and build long-term brand loyalty for its niche group of all-family and adult cereals. With DVD penetration at 81% of households nationwide and the average household buying 18 new movies each year, DVDs seemed like an ideal premium for broad family appeal. Kellogg’s struck a partnership with Fox Home Entertainment in 2005 to create a promotion offering a free DVD from Fox’s 6,000-title collection with five proofs of product purchase. From January 2005 through March 2007, Kellogg’s Movie Lover’s Collection program produced more than 2 million DVD redemptions and cereal purchases of 10 million units. One-third of participating households have ordered at least two DVDs in a year. Based on its initial success, the program has now been expanded to include brands in Kellogg’s frozen and snack divisions.

#18 Best Dealer, Sales Force or Business-to-Business Campaign

ATTACK OF THE TERABYTES

CLIENT: Forsythe Technology

AGENCY: The Red Group

Forsythe wanted to promote its ability to develop an IT storage strategy with Sun’s StorageTek 9990. The campaign targeted prospects (from list rentals), who used either Sun or STK products with at least $250 million in enterprise revenue. The objective: to land meetings with key decision makers and unify the Sun brand with the recently acquired STK storage products. A four-piece mailer campaign was employed, enclosing a UMD movie, “Alien.” If recipients called to schedule a meeting, the Forsythe representative would bring along a PlayStation that could play the movie. Non-responders received a series of three self-mailers reiterating the meeting invitation and the giveaway. Creative tied into the B-movie theme. “Attack of the Terabytes,” which addressed the expanding data problem, was one of four messages. The result was $2.1 million in new business revenue, far exceeding the goal of $1.3 million. The total campaign, including premiums, cost $95,000.

#19 Best Use of P-O-P

TOP SECRET LAUNCH OF T.M.X. ELMO

CLIENT: Fisher-Price

AGENCY: Eric Mower and Associates

Wrapping the introduction of T.M.X. Elmo in a shroud of secrecy, Fisher-Price hoped to generate the kind of consumer response in 2006 that Tickle Me Elmo spawned 10 years earlier. Fisher-Price executives kept the prototype hidden from everyone except the 10 top-level managers involved in the toy’s creation. At Toys “R” Us stores, giant countdown clocks ticked off the days, hours and minutes remaining until the new Elmo’s arrival. “Top Secret” P-O-P placeholder units sat on empty shelves and motion sensors triggered Elmo’s voice saying, “Ahh, ahh, ahh…no peeking.” Target and Wal-Mart participated in the pre-launch promotion as well. When T.M.X. Elmo finally hit the shelves, it sold out within hours. The campaign kick-started sales in September 2006 that pushed Elmo to the top of kids’ Christmas wish lists once more. T.M.X. Elmo was the top-ranking item in the toy industry for the three months ending November 2006.

#20 Best Retail/Co-Marketing Campaign

PEDIGREE DOG ADOPTION

CLIENT: Pedigree Dog Food

AGENCY: Catapult Marketing

Pedigree Dog Food sought to instill brand loyalty while forging a bond with pet owners. “Help Us Help Dogs” was the tagline for the adoption-focused campaign. Every product purchase contributed towards a $1 million corporate donation to local dog shelters in 2006. Pedigree launched a multimedia campaign, including 15- and 30-second TV spots, print ads in dog enthusiast media and Web site information and advice about dog adoption. Pedigree sales were up 5% over a year ago, translating into an increase of $48.2 million in revenue, marking only the second time in its history that Pedigree’s sales have exceeded $1 billion. Distribution of 25,000 dog tag premiums and 40,000 goodie bags to key influencers helped fuel the program that was on pace to donate $750,000 to animal shelters by the end of the year.

#21 Best Campaign on a Budget (under $250,000)

AIR NEW ZEALAND: NON-STOP TO LONDON

CLIENT: Air New Zealand

AGENCY: Promotions Group West

In December 2006, Air New Zealand launched its new direct flight service from Los Angeles to London. On Nov. 24, 2006, a month-long promotion, with a budget less than $250,000, hit the streets of Los Angeles. The campaign featured five components to meet the client’s objectives: 1) a London-style double-decker bus driving the streets of Los Angeles; 2) a street team of brand ambassadors who were dressed as an ANZ flight crew and spoke with kiwi accents; 3) a sweepstakes microsite offering the chance to win a pair of roundtrip tickets; 4) a bar collateral program at 15 British-style pubs; and 5) a series of dart competitions at the pubs offering the winner from each qualifying round a $100 American Express Gift Card and a spot in the championship round. The result: Ticket sales for the LAX to London flight increased by 150%.

#22 Best Idea or Concept

SCORNED WOMAN

CLIENT: Court TV- “Parco P.I.”

AGENCY: Court TV

Court TV launched a rather unorthodox promotional campaign for its popular series “Parco P.I,” which focuses on adultery. Merging fiction with reality, the network introduced viewers to Emily, a woman who discovered her husband was cheating. As her dramatic saga unfolded, Emily was positioned as a real person. Through a high-profile billboard campaign, a personal blog authored by Emily and a series of stunts in the streets of New York City, the public increasingly speculated as to whether or not Emily truly existed. This influx of curiosity and suspicion surrounding Emily paid off heavily for Court TV. The campaign created major media and consumer buzz for “Parco P.I.” and Court TV, producing the equivalent of 60 million promotional impressions.

#23 Best Creative

GAP (PRODUCT) RED LAUNCH

(See overall winner p.44)