L.A.-based advertising agency Cesario Migliozzi LLC is giving eight clients a shot at the Super Bowl.
Normally, a Super Bowl ad costs $3 million, out of the price range for many advertisers. But this spot will go for only $395,000. The plan is to get eight clients to share the cost for 30 seconds on NBC’s broadcast of the National Football League championship game Feb. 1, an event that draws a worldwide audience of about 100 million viewers.
The package includes all creative and production costs, plus a guarantee that each advertiser’s logo will appear on screen for the full 30 seconds. In addition, each logo will appear with outtakes from the commercial on the Internet as a viral video.
“Co-op ads have never been sold on the Super Bowl,” said Michael Migliozzi, partner and creative director at the firm. “In today’s tough economic times, however, the idea makes a lot of sense. It’s a chance for marketers who are priced out of the Super Bowl to get their 30 seconds of Super Bowl fame.”
Migliozzi’s production of the spots will occur between Jan. 12 and 23.
Billboard Charges
The city of Los Angeles has filed criminal charges against the owner of a construction company and three property owners for their role in erecting illegal billboards.
Timothy McDaniel, owner of construction firm McDaniel Inc., and three property owners face multiple charges. They will be arraigned Jan. 21.
The cases stem from an inspection by the Department of Building and Safety based on a complaint that signs were installed without permits at three locations near the 110 Freeway in the downtown area: 1314 W. 12th St., 1107 W. James Wood Blvd. and 1306 W. 11th St. Work crews at each of the locations were using cranes to build support structures for billboards.
After Building and Safety confirmed that the projects lacked permits, it issued stop-work orders. Subsequent visits to sites showed that the stop orders were ignored.
Fox Worldlink Deal
WorldLink, an L.A.-based advertising sales company, has signed an agreement with Fox Broadcasting to place infomercials on Fox’s Saturday morning schedule.
In November, Fox announced it would cancel its children’s programming on Saturday morning due to declining advertising from toy companies. Instead, Fox will devote two hours to local affiliate programming and two hours to long-form infomercials.
The infomercials will air on more than 180 Fox affiliate stations across the country.
“This block offers marketers incredibly broad reach at a time when viewership is increasingly fragmented,” said Toni Knight, founder and chief executive of WorldLink.
M & A; for 2009
FiveW Public Relations plans to continue growing during 2009, which is expected to be a tough year for PR agencies.
But instead of signing more clients or building business with existing relationships, the focus will be on acquisitions.
Since its founding in 2003, 5W which has offices in Los Angeles and New York has become the 21st largest independent PR shop in the nation, through a combination of building its client base and a merger strategy.
“As entrepreneurs, we understand the struggles small firms may have with collections, lowering of retainers and simple balance-sheet issues,” said Ronn Torossian, chief executive of 5W. “We are interested in acquisitions of agencies that may be looking to merge into a larger agency.”
In particular, 5W wants agencies with clients that don’t compete with its current roster. The shop’s Los Angeles-area customers include Guitar Center, Gen Art and Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa.
Agencies & Accounts
On Dec. 19, the familiar blue-uniformed Helpful Honda types served food to 750 homeless people in shelters across Los Angeles and Orange counties. Kurent Inc., a Torrance-based PR agency, manages the Helpful Honda campaign on behalf of local dealerships. Three local companies won first-place trophies at the 2008 Mobile Excellence Awards, which honor media, marketing and technology for cell phones and other handheld devices, at the Sofitel Hotel in Los Angeles in December. The winners were Sony Pictures TV International, for the animated show “AfterWorld” promo campaign; GoTV, which won for online soap opera “Crescent Heights”; and DirecTV Group Inc., which won for adapting NFL television clips for mobile media. Neotrope, a brand identity and marketing firm, will give $25,000 in pro bono work to Starlight Children’s Foundation during 2009. Both Neotrope and the foundation are based in Los Angeles. Hydra LLC, an online ad network, has hired Johnny Talisman in the new position of creative director. At his previous job with McCann Erickson, Talisman worked on campaigns for Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., AltaVista and Shell Oil Co.
Staff reporter Joel Russell can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 237.
