October 29, 2004

		Cingular, AT&T Wireless Merge Messages
		BREAKING: Nintendo Teases Gamers with the New DS
		MOVERS: Additions at MJZ, Arnold/N.Y. and more
		ON THE WEB: Tagline Pileup

Cingular, AT&T Wireless Merge Messages

Cingular "Road Trip"

Now that Cingular's acquisition of AT&T Wireless has passed regulatory muster, BBDO's offices in New York and Atlanta are debuting three new spots to trumpet the strengths of the new Cingular, and the company's new tagline: "Raising the bar."

In one spot, directed by Believe Media's Zack Snyder, we are asked to imagine if star pitchers Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens were combined into one super pitcher known as the "Rocket Unit." In another, shot by In America director Jim Sheridan via Moxie Pictures, people wake up to phones that have suddenly switched to a more powerful network. And finally, in a spot directed by Park Pictures' Lance Acord, we see a man drive across the country for a reunion through a landscape that constantly suggests fully-loaded reception bars.

BREAKING

Nintendo "Touch"

Nintendo is promoting its latest handheld console, the Nintendo DS, with a provocative new teaser campaign. Created by Leo Burnett and New York design firm KD Lab, the effort -- dubbed "Touching is good" -- features spots in which your television reception seems to be interrupted by a pair of blue squares and a seductive female voice that playfully urges you to touch the bottom square. The reveal is that the squares represent the dual screens of the DS, one of which will include touch-screen controls. A teaser campaign indeed.

MOVERS

Director Phil Joanou, formerly of Villains, has signed with MJZ for worldwide commercials representation. ... The creative team of Thom Baginski and Gary Rozanski, formerly of DDB/N.Y., are jumping to Arnold/N.Y. as group creative directors. They rejoin former DDB ECD John Staffen, who is now ECD of Arnold's New York office. ... Believe Media has announced that it has signed Extra Large -- the London-based music video company that was formerly under the umbrella of now-defunct production company Large -- which will now operate under the Believe moniker in the U.K. The Extra Large roster includes Barney Clay, Katie Dawson, Simon Cracknell, Simon Baker, Richard Fenwick, Cameron Casey and Andy Roberts. Extra Large's Jamie Grant, who will now be head of videos for Believe, will also represent Believe's U.S. roster in the U.K. ... Atlanta-based director Peter Siaggas, formerly of Pogo Pictures, has launched his own production company, Spots Films.

ON THE WEB

Copywriter/blogger Brandon Barr explains the nagging doubts we've had lately about certain taglines. In particular, about Hummer's ("Like Nothing Else."), Mercedes' ("Unlike any other."), and Sony's ("Like No Other.") They can't all be right. Right?

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