Subject: [NEXTEL-1] On the Game Again

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 06 Jan 2003 13:54:43 -0500

On the Game Again

January 4, 2003 7:47am

WILLIE NELSON KNOWS a thing or two about lax tax bills. The country music legend had a
run-in with the
IRS in 1990 when he failed to pay $16 million in back taxes. His assets were frozen, but
he's since squared
away his bill with the government. Now, H&R Block has signed the “outlaw” singer for a
Super Bowl spot
implying the trouble he could have avoided had he sought the tax preparer's expert advice.

The Kansas City, MO-based financial services
company is touting its Double Check service,
in which H&R Block reviews filed tax forms up
to three years old. “Willie got some very bad
advice; he didn't knowingly or ever intend to
have a tax situation,” says Karl Ploeger,
VP-creative and media services at H&R Block.
“We are utilizing his history to show that you
don't have to live with bad advice and you can
check past returns.”

This is H&R Block's second year of sponsoring
the Super Bowl pre-game show and running
spots during the game. Last year's Coen
Brothers-directed “Taxman” commercial
brought in record sales for the firm. The
company also ditched its two-year old
Million-Dollar Giveaway campaign for a Tax
Freedom for Life sweeps to tout Double Check
(which is free for new clients and generates an average of $1,300 for customers). One
grand-prize winner will
receive the equivalent of having their federal taxes paid for life (or $500,000). Ten
runners-up score $10,000
for 2002 taxes. Direct mail and ads in USA Weekend, Parade, Entertainment Weekly, Sports
Illustrated,
and People support. Consumers can also enter through tax season (by April 15) at any H&R
Block
business — in offices, through tax software programs, and via online tax filing.

And they couldn't ask for a better campaign kick-off than the Super Bowl. “The timing for
us — right when
people are getting their W-2 forms — is probably better than any other singular advertiser
in the game,”
says Ploeger. Campbell-Mithun, Minneapolis, handles. (See Hot Properties for more Super
Bowl coverage.)

Gatorade takes its National Basketball Association sponsorship global for its first-ever
international push
behind a single sport. The multi-year deal begins Jan. 1 and includes NBA-themed ads and
promos,
grassroots events, and merchandising. Gatorade's existing endorsement deals with Michael
Jordan
(Washington Wizards) and Vince Carter (Toronto Raptors) will put those players on packages
and P-O-P in
non-U.S. markets. Gatorade has sponsored the NBA since 1984, and wants to capitalize on
international
interest in basketball. Purchase, NY-based PepsiCo owns Gatorade.

Los Angeles-based New Line Cinema and Verizon Wireless of Bedminster, NJ, inked a two-year
alliance to
create a range of promotions tied to the Lord of the Rings theatrical and DVD releases.
The deal
encompasses broadcast, print, radio, online, in-store efforts, exclusive wireless content
(such as games
and chat rooms) for Verizon customers, and a co-branded Web site,
verizonwireless.com/lotr. The second
film in the series, The Two Towers, opened last month.

H.J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, targets nine- to 14-year-olds with an Ore Ida Bagel Bites
Extreme Redeem
auction that runs through May. Kids collect on-pack points, then go to bagelbites.com to
bid on prizes from
snowboard lessons and Sony PlayStation 2 videogames to T-shirts. Think 360, based in
Hawthorne, NY,
handles the campaign; FairMarket, based in Boston, handles the auction itself. Heinz wants
to boost
purchase frequency and engage kids online.

Nextel Communications Inc., Reston, VA, has teamed with the National Hockey League for a
Donate a
Phone promotion through Jan. 19 to aid the NHL's Hockey Fights Cancer program. In 11 NHL
markets,
teams are asking fans to recycle their old wireless phones during designated “Nextel
Nights” and hosting
hockey skills contests for fans. Winners score trips to the 2003 NHL All-Star Weekend in
Sunrise, FL,
where they square off against other contestants. The winner shoots against a professional
goalie between
periods during the Feb. 2 All-Star Game for the chance to win $250,000. Octagon, Stamford,
CT, handles.

Motorola Inc., Plantation, FL, is supporting its new line of accessories for iDEN
multi-communications
phones with a Connect with Color sweepstakes, giving away a 2003 Hummer H2 vehicle as the
grand prize.
The accessories (such as ear buds, carrying cases, and battery charges) come in blue,
purple, smoke, and
clear colors. Consumers enter at motorolawinners.com and the winner will be drawn in June.
Through the
end of May, select Motorola products will carry scratch-off game cards offering up
accessory prizes.

General Mills' Wheaties has signed a two-year National Basketball Association sponsorship
deal. The deal
gives Minneapolis-based Mills league, team, and player rights for the NBA and WNBA. Other
corporate
sponsors for this season so far include Adidas, Lego, Dell Computer, MBNA, and Southwest
Airlines.

Krakus Polish Hams brings fine art to the deli. A sweeps will send one winner to San
Francisco to view the
art exhibit “Leonardo da Vinci and the Splendor of Poland.” Consumers in Milwaukee and
Chicago can enter
the sweeps via FSIs, radio promotions, and via tear pads at deli counters this month. The
campaign, which
supports the launch of six new meat products, will then run in New England in February and
March. Blue
Chip Marketing & Communications, Northfield, IL, handles for Krakus Foods International,
Cudahy, WI.

Dodge's Ram brand logo is coming in handy for this year's Asian Lunar New Year (the Year
of the Lamb).
The Auburn Hills, MI-based DaimlerChrysler brand is participating in three different New
Year events this
month and next. First up is title sponsorship of the Asian American Expo in Los Angeles
Jan. 25 and 26,
followed by a guerrilla marketing event in San Francisco Feb. 15 and 16. An exclusive
sponsorship of a
celebration in Flushing, NY, is tentatively planned for early February, too. Dodge will
showcase its full fleet
of vehicles at the events, including the new Dodge SRT-4 compact car, and host various
activities such as
games. DaimlerChrysler's multicultural marketing agency GlobalHue, Southfield, MI,
handles.

Verizon Wireless next month slides out its seventh Luge Challenge event in six of the top
10 ski resorts.
Adults and children over the age of 10 can take their turns going down an icy track carved
into the mountain
face. USA Luge athletes and coaches will demonstrate and teach participants techniques,
such as the
basics of accelerating, steering, and stopping. The five individuals who clock the fastest
in each age group
will win prizes from various sporting companies, including Duofold Clothing and LaCrosse
Footwear. The
events will take place on weekends in January through March at resorts in Oregon, Vermont,
Utah, and New
Hampshire, kicking off Jan. 11 at Ski Windham in New York. IMG Group, New York City,
handles. The
Bedminster, NJ-based wireless company is a sponsor of the USA Luge team.

Just in time for New Year's diet resolutions, Framingham, MA-based Jazzercise and
Gorton's, Gloucester,
MA, this month have teamed for a cross promotion. By sending in two UPCs of Gorton's
Grilled Fillets,
consumers can attend three free 60-minute Jazzercise classes through the end of August.
Cohen-Friedberg
Associates, Framingham, handles. P-O-P displays at 13,000 stores and activity at
jazzercise.com and
gortons.com/jazzercise support.

Tony's Plays Game Boy

Nintendo of America, Redmond, WA, and Marshall, MN-based Schwan's Consumer Brands — parent
of
Tony's Pizza — have teamed for an on-pack sweepstakes running in grocery stores through
July 1.
Specially-marked boxes of Tony's Pizza will feature the chance to win 3,000 Game Boy
Advance prizes,
including tip cards with secret hints for playing new games such as Super Mario World and
Legend of
Zelda. First-prize winners (350 total) receive a Game Boy Advance hand-held video game
system, while 600
second-prize winners receive Game Boy Advance games. Another 2,000 third-prize winners
receive a Game
Boy Advance Game Link cable. M-Factor, Minneapolis, handles.

http://hoovnews.hoovers.com/fp.asp?layout=query_displaynews&q=NEXTEL&so=&dc=&ro=&ed=&sd=&s=1&boldtext=NEXTEL&sym=&doc_id=NR200301042500.6.8_d22c00719c060909

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/