ADVERTISING WATCH 1995-10-30

Michelob Catalogs Holiday Discounts

e is offering Michelob drinkers holiday discounts on merchandise from the Hammacher Schlemmer mail-order catalog.

A mini-catalog will be in-packed with specially marked 12-packs of Michelob, Michelob Light and Michelob Dry bottles. Also included will be a certificate for 10% savings on catalog merchandise.

In conjunction with the promotion, Michelob cases will be will be decorated with holiday scenes. Six-foot-high fireplaces, Thanksgiving and Christmas ornaments and other point-of-purchase materials will be available to retailers.

The entire Michelob Family holiday promotion will be advertised on cable television and in USA Today beginning Nov. 10.

Gambrinus Brings Corona Promotion to Light

SAN ANTONIO -- "Corona Light. It's Corona. It's Time."

That's the newly developed advertising campaign being used by Gambrinus Co. here for its imported Corona Light brand beer.

Gambrinus will air radio advertisements in Houston, Dallas and 12 East Coast markets. Point of sale support is available to retailers in the form of table tents, posters, counter cards and static clings. The campaign is set to begin early next year.

Gambrinus also imports Corona Extra, Modelo Especial and several other Mexican beers.

Skoal Invite is Music to Consumers' Ears

GREENWICH, Conn. -- U.S. Tobacco Sales and Marketing Co. here is inviting music fans to "Rock the Smokies" in Newport, Tenn., on July 6, 1996.

The manufacturer of Skoal brand smokeless tobacco is offering consumers free tickets to an outdoor concert featuring six well-known country and southern rock acts, including Hank Williams Jr., Travis Tritt, The Charlie Daniels Band, Little Feat, .38 Special and The Marshall Tucker Band.

Consumers must mail in postcards from magazine advertisements or counter displays to request the tickets. Requests must be received by May 10, 1996. One all-expenses-paid trip for four will be given away. Other concert goers are responsible for their own travel arrangements.

For last year's "Rock the Rockies" promotion, the company received 280,000 ticket requests. A total of 50,000 people actually attended the concert, held in Denver on May 28. A company spokesman said more attendees are expected at next year's event.

Molson GETS AN ASSIST ON the Ice

RESTON, Va. -- A fourth-quarter promotion from Molson Breweries U.S.A. here is centered around model Barbara Moore and Molson Ice beer.

Sporting Molson-themed hockey gear, Moore will be featured on posters that are available at point-of-purchase. They are free to retailers for display or, if they choose, for giveaways. Moore will also be making personal appearances on behalf of the brand in select markets.

In markets where Molson has sponsorship agreements with National Hockey League teams such as the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Black Hawks, the poster will be customized with the team's logo and game schedule.

Other brand-supporting point-of-sale materials available to retailers include case cards and static clings featuring the tagline, "From the land where ice was born."

MOOVE OVER, ELSIE: Archway Tests NEW ADS

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. -- Archway Cookies here is testing a new advertising campaign with the theme, "Classic Cookie Jar Material." The products will be pushed by a newly selected "spokescow" and will play off the tradition of milk and cookies.

The television and radio campaign broke earlier this month in the test market of Columbus, Ohio. Provided the campaign yields positive results, it will be rolled out to select markets nationwide next year.

This campaign signals the first occasion in quite some time that Archway has done any brand support advertising, said a company spokesman.

Freeman Cosmetics OFFERS RUN FOR THE RosES

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Freeman Cosmetics here is offering sweepstakes entrants a trip for two to Planet Hollywood's New Year's Eve, the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl game in Los Angeles on New Year's Day, 1997.

Dubbed the Rock N' Rose Sweepstakes, the promotion involves Freeman's Botanical, Beautiful Skin and Beautiful Bath product lines.

Entry forms will be carried on Freeman containers along with two free sachets and a $1 mail-in rebate. The manufacturer is also offering retailers a tower display with header cards and a tear pad with $1 mail-in rebates.

To support the sweepstakes, Freeman is dropping a free-standing insert Jan. 14. A sponsor of the Tournament of Roses Parade Jan. 1, the company will run its commercials throughout the telecast of that event. Other advertising will include national commercials on TV network morning programs such as CBS This Morning, The Today Show and Good Morning America, as well as spots on cable networks such as MTV, VH-1, Lifetime Network and the USA Network. The company's ads will also appear in national consumer magazines such as Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Vogue and People.