To the background music “When I Fall in Love,” a young man sails along in the new 2000 Kia Spectra soaking up the scenery, leaning out the car to polish the windshield and sticking his head out of the window to yell for joy. But the Kia fanatic’s ride is soon over when the driver of a transport truck carrying the car catches him and tosses him out.
The TV spot is one of three in a campaign created by Kia Motors America’s new ad shop Davidandgoliath Advertising in Los Angeles.
Irvine-based Kia nearly doubled its ad spending from $56.3 million in 1998 to $92.8 million in 1999, according to Lynn Fava, senior analyst for Competitive Media Reporting in New York. Kia reports that its sales grew 62% to 134,594 units last year.
But in November, Kia Motors America Inc. switched agencies from Goldberg Moser O’Neill in San Francisco to Davidandgoliath. The switch followed the departure of GMO principal Michael Moster, who headed up the creative aspects of the account.
The latest TV blitz includes two 60-second spots for the company’s new Spectra model,called “Cruising” and “Drive-In”,and a 30-second piece, “Girlfriend,” for its sport-utility vehicle. The 2000 Spectra, a hatchback sedan that sells for $11,000, is the company’s first new model in two years. Kia expects its total sales to grow to 160,000 units this year and 200,000 units in 2001.
Cox Launches Home-Tour Show
Cox Communications, Rancho Santa Margarita, is launching this week a new 30-minute TV program that takes viewers on a virtual tour of some of the most popular new residential communities in south Orange County on Cox Channel 3. “HomeView” and the online version, “HomeView Online,” allow viewers to tour model homes of new communities via their TV or computer. The online version is hosted by Ocnow.com and includes tips, trends, mortgage rates, statistics and demographics.
Billabong Pushing Girls Line
Although some OC surfwear companies such as Volcom and Pacific Sunwear have tapped big local ad shops such as FCB Worldwide and Bates USA West to handle their campaigns, Irvine-based Billabong USA prefers to keep its work in-house under art director Anne Machado. The surfwear company just launched a new national advertising campaign this month for its growing Billabong Girls division.
The company’s print spots will run through the summer in Seventeen, Surfer Girl, Surfing Girl and Wahine magazines. The company held a photo shoot in Hawaii with its top female surfer, Layne Beachley, and also filmed an in-store video that features board sports, fashion, music and faces of the company’s team riders in a music video-style format. The video, which aims to further distinguish the company’s girls’ brand from its men’s line, will launch in most specialty surf stores nationally in July.
NTN Shootout Under Way
Speaking of Bates and FCB, the two local shops are among the contenders battling it out for NTN Communications in Carlsbad’s estimated $13 million to $20 million account. The agency that wins the account will handle the company’s Buzztime.com and NTN Network divisions.
Bits and Pieces:
Buy.com, Aliso Viejo, recently launched a new Internet superstore in Sydney, Australia. Buy.com Pty. Ltd., aka, buy.com Australia, will serve Australian consumers with distribution handled by Tech Pacific. The company’s tagline is “The Spot to Shop” Got ad space? The guys at Urban Advertising Guerrillas in Huntington Beach apparently have found a solution to expensive street billboards. They are taking to the streets with triangular mobile billboards Chi-Chi’s, a subsidiary of Irvine-based Prandium Inc., launched a new advertising campaign last month featuring new TV spots, radio and print ads The Professional Image in Newport Beach has hired Sanaa Badri as its new account coordinator, handling PR and marketing OC’s surf-rag pioneers at Irvine-based Ocean Pacific Apparel Inc. recently made a move to polish up the OP image with the hiring of professional surfer Tim Curran, 22, of Oxnard, as the company’s new spokesperson in a deal valued at more than $1 million. Curran had been a team rider at K2/Katin in Los Angeles KOCE-TV Foundation will hold its first Aristeia Awards on Thursday, May 25, at 6:30 p.m. at the Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach. The public television station is honoring three members of the community for their contribution to KOCE. Speaking of the surf industry, Gotcha International LP is teaming with event producer Bluetorch.com for the Gotcha Pro Tahiti to be held May 9 through 19. The event will award $168,100 in prizes to competing professional surfers Newport Beach-based GreenLight Communications has formed a partnership with Make-A-Wish Foundation of Orange County to develop and implement a pro bono branding and integrated marketing program NQL Solutions, Santa Ana, a new division of AlphaServ.com, has named Lages & Associates as its PR agency of record. The agency will handle publicity for the company’s Network Query Language, used for the development of B2B tools and intelligent-agent software Script to Screen in Santa Ana recently completed its third infomercial for PureSpin Golf.
