After seeing the new Lexus hybrid car, Paul McCartney decided he would lend support to the campaign by allowing Lexus to use his new single, "Fine Line," in the commercial. "When it was put to me that they wanted to sponsor the tour and when I actually saw the car and saw what it was all about, I said 'Yeah, sure, that's something I can definitely get behind.' It beats beer commercials." The single comes from McCartney's recently released album, "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard."
Lexus is sponsoring McCartney's 11-week U.S. concert tour along with Fidelity Investments. McCartney will appear in the investment company's upcoming ad campaign.
It seems the American Society of Magazine Editors - which, oddly, sounds like a bunch of old men sitting around in a smoke-filled country club lounge - didn't take too kindly to the recent stunt The New Yorker pulled with Target - selling all ad pages, exclusively, to the discount giant. The Society requires magazine's with one sponsor to include an editorial statement stating the advertiser had no influence over editorial content. The New Yorker did not include such a note. Whether or not lines were crossed here, Target, as always, accomplished a masterstroke of publicity with this move and is likely sitting back laughing at all of those who have raised issue with the stunt.
Procter & Gamble has signed a deal with 2005 Indy 500 female Rookie of the Year Danika Patrick to promote the CPG company's Secret deodorant and body spray collection. Under the deal, P&G will slap the Secret logo on Patrick's car and uniform. Yes, she wears more than a bikini when she drives. In addition, she will appear in commercials.
Danika, 23, seems excited about the deal, saying, "I have been fortunate throughout my career to be associated with some outstanding companies as sponsors. "For an established brand like Secret to expand their marketing efforts into IndyCar Racing, because of what I represent as an athlete, is extremely flattering." Photo by George Holz.
In a move that clearly cements the notion everyone is at the beck and call of the almighty advertising dollar, the city of Chicago, to eliminate a tax hike to offset a $94.1 million budget gap, is offering up several city assets upon which marketers can place their message. From the Chicago Skyway to the airports to libraries to water filtration plant to police and fire stations to bridges and more, everything seems to be for sale. It seems the city of Chicago could become one gigantic Times Square.
Reuters has partnered with GE in a sponsorship deal which will place the American maker of all things in a premiere sponsor position on the Reuters Interactive TV channel. The sponsorship will center on GE's "ecomagination" campaign which touts the company's environmentally friendly products.
As the premier sponsor, GE will run 30 second post-roll video ads. While the video ad plays, a banner ad is also displayed on the left-side navigation which clicks through to a GE branded sponsor page. OMD Digital NY was responsible for the planning and buying of this campaign.
The proliferation of ad creep has made it far too easy for institutions in need of money to turn to marketers for relief. Naming building and stadiums was once taboo. Now, it's odd if a sports arena is not named after a marketer. A school in New Jersey sold the naming rights to its gymnasium to local grocery store Shop-Rite and now an elementary school in suburban Detroit is considering courting marketers to name its new school.
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While the co-opting of graffiti by marketers hasn't gone so well, aside from Lincoln's recent bike messenger faux paux, PUMA appears to understand how to mingle corporate promotion with street cred. PUMA launched Team PUMA, a bike messenger team that supports bike track racing. PUMA, which actively supports the community rather than exploiting it, provides team members with medical insurance and travel expenses for races and has not yet turned it into a corporate logo-thon. It seems subtle enough. Other might disagree. The line get more blurry each day.
Not that there'd ever be a semi-nude Paris Hilton Carl's Jr. ad affixed to their shirts but the NBA has not ruled out selling ad space on player's uniforms. NBA Commissioner David Stern says it's inevitable and Dallas Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban said if it was up to him, ads would already be on uniforms. Readers, is this a good thing or are we racing towards the day when holographic ads are projected in front of our faces 24/7?
