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The New York Times
Monday, April 9, 2007
Campaign Spotlight
Love Is a Many-Flavored Thing
In Advertising

Ah, the great love affairs of all time: Heloise and Abelard, Romeo and Juliet, Victoria and Albert, food and French's ...

O.K., so the last one is unlikely to ever be enshrined in a romance hall of fame. But it is the premise of a new campaign for the French's line of mustards, sold by Reckitt Benckiser, which is now under way.

The campaign, with a budget estimated at more than $12 million, introduces the theme "Food loves French's," with a heart made out of yellow mustard in place of the word "loves."





Media This Week
By STUART ELLIOTT
Miles S. Nadal, head of MDC Partners, is doing what he loves to do best: making deals. But when is enough enough?

By JOHN MARKOFF
An investment group is preparing to compete for the valuable radio spectrum that will be freed when broadcasters convert to digital signals.

By MARIA ASPAN
The introduction of The East Hampton Press as a competitor to The East Hampton Star involves a dynastic rivalry between its two owners.

By JOE RHODES
Remember Robin Sparkles? She exists only in a made-up MySpace page meant to promote the CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother."

By BOB TEDESCHI
Small used- and rare-book merchants say they will suffer since they rely on foreign demand.
MORE MEDIA NEWS


Q & A with Stuart Elliott

Q: [Reader]

I'm puzzled by a commercial I keep seeing for the V-Cast music service on Verizon Wireless cellphones. There's a guy in a gym who seems to be some kind of instructor, but behaves like a real oaf.

He rattles on in dude-speak, does not pay attention to his work and shouts at the camera as he shares with the viewers his favorite song by Fall Out Boy.

In other words, this guy is a real meathead. Is the character supposed to be someone we want to look up to and follow his advice on what type of phone to buy?

A: [Stuart Elliott]

The guy "is not a pitchman but a comedic type - the lovable, albeit not-too-cerebral type," says Susan Irwin, a spokeswoman for the Verizon Wireless agency, McCann Erickson Worldwide in New York, likening the character to the type of guy Will Ferrell plays in his films.

"The hero of the 'Gym' spot is not the on-camera actor," she adds, but rather "the viewer at home who listens to the great-sounding music."

"By breaking the 'fourth wall,' " Ms. Irwin says, referring to the device of having the point of view be with the viewers, "this series of V-Cast music commercials are really man-on-the street demonstrations where you, the viewer at home, are the proverbial man on the street."

The use of the word "series" by Ms. Irwin reflects that since the reader question was submitted, the "Gym" commercial has been joined on TV by a second spot with a similar premise and the same viewer point-of-view. McCann Erickson is part of the McCann Worldgroup unit of the Interpublic Group of Companies.

Q: [Reader]

Q: This is in reference to your recent article in The Times about suicide as a subject in commercials. There is nothing humorous about depression or suicide. In September 2005, our son climbed to the roof of his apartment building and stepped off the edge.

There is not a moment that goes by that we do not relive the horror of this act. There is not a day that we do not mourn the loss of this funny, bright and kind person. We would invite the advertising executives you quoted to spend a day in our shoes.

A: [Stuart Elliott]

Thank you, dear readers, for sharing that painful, and powerful, memory.
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Webdenda

Wendi Sanders Berger was named publisher at Fitness magazine, New York, part of the Meredith Corporation. She succeeds Lauren Buerger, who recently resigned, the company said. Ms. Berger had been publisher of another Meredith magazine, Child, which the company plans to close.

Jennifer Berry joined Isobar, Boston, part of the Aegis Group, as vice president for client development, a new post, working on the Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble accounts. She had been a consultant with Coca-Cola and before that held posts like account director at IMC2, Dallas.

Greg Braun and Jason Stanfield joined Energy BBDO, which is the Chicago office of BBDO Worldwide, part of the Omnicom Group. Mr. Braun becomes a senior vice president and group creative director; he had been a creative director at the Torrance, Calif., office of Saatchi & Saatchi, part of the Publicis Groupe. Mr. Stanfield becomes a creative director and art director; he had been an associate creative director at the Seattle office of DDB Worldwide, also part of Omnicom.

Brouillard, New York, part of the WPP Group, opened a European division, to be based in Milan. Initially, two executives from New York will supervise the operation; they are Jamie Ambler, creative director, and Matthew Asinari, global account director.

• More People and Accounts of Note

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