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A super time for Martin |  |
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Jeffrey Kelley (804) 524-9725 jkelley@timesdispatch.com Jan 15, 2005 A Shockoe Slip advertising firm is going to the Super Bowl. The Martin Agency has created a campaign that will include Olympus Imaging America Inc.'s first Super Bowl advertisements since 1981. The two 30-second spots, which will run in the first and third quarters of the football game on Feb. 6, will pitch the first digital-music player with a built-in digital camera. The Melville, N.Y.-based consumer and professional technology company will promote the Olympus m:robe 500, a compact and sleek-looking little number that retails for about $500. With the m:robe, Olympus will look to thrust itself into the increasingly popular digital music market, competing against such players as Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod and the Dell Inc. Digital Jukebox. The tagline suggests that consumers "Let Your Pictures Groove" throughout the "edgy and entertaining" commercials, said Martin Lee, vice president of marketing at Olympus Imaging America. The ads are designed as mini-music videos and will include a variety of special effects. "There is no bigger stage to launch a new product than the Super Bowl," said Sean Riley, senior vice president and creative director at Martin, which landed the $15 million-a-year Olympus account in 2001, beating out rivals from New York and Boston. Martin has since been producing the company's print and television ads. "When the world is watching, you want to put on a good show," Riley said. The commercials will be a part of a $10 million campaign to launch the m:robe. The promotion began at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this month. Martin also will handle m:robe appearances at Olympus Fashion Week in New York, commercials at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 13 and print ads in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and Rolling Stone magazine. While exact figures of the Olympus Super Bowl spots are undisclosed, commercials this year are up for grabs at around $2.4 million for a 30-second plug. Better make'em count. |