THIS IS FROM TODAY'S ORLANDO SENTINEL:
Disney ads orbit around new ride
Susan Strother Clarke
July 23, 2003
Walt Disney World has never run national TV ads about a single ride, preferring instead to concentrate its marketing on the emotion behind a visit to the parks.
But that changes this fall.
The company's new campaign, a slate of five, 30-second commercials, will include one spot centered around the new Mission: Space thrill ride at Epcot.
So why the change?
No doubt Disney is feeling the heat from Universal and other competitors -- and in this economy, the company wants to spur travel sooner rather than later by telling people about the hot ride. Mission: Space uses some of the most advanced technology on the market -- a funky combination of simulator and a centrifuge -- to take riders on a trip to Mars. It opens officially Aug. 15.
Linda Warren, executive vice president of marketing and brand management, said Disney simply wanted to get some mileage out of a clear winner. Early reviews of Mission: Space have been unusually strong -- with some fans calling it Disney's first "F ticket" ride (outclassing the top "E" tickets of old). Warren, by the by, is a three-time rider.
It's unusual for Disney officials to take the wraps off yet-to-run advertising, but Warren said the rough cuts of the new spot look like this: The commercial, created by Leo Burnett's Chicago office, features two families. The children have just ridden Mission: Space, and the parents ask whether it's scary. The kids, of course, lie. The parents jump on and scream to high heaven as their rocket takes off.
No word on the value of the campaign, which kicks off in October, but Disney generally measures these things in multiple millions of dollars.
But here's something Big D won't be paying for: Hewlett Packard, a corporate sponsor of Mission: Space, is planning to include the ride in a future ad for its computers. Nothing like a little free TV time.
MORE ON THE MIGHTY MOUSE. Look for the upcoming TV campaign to be centered around the theme "magical gatherings."
Warren was mum on the topic, but other company insiders say those words may replace the "where magic lives" tagline now used in ads. (Disney is big on magic; remember the "100 Years of Magic" campaign that began in 2001?)
But what exactly is a magical gathering?
Well, any visit to Disney is presumably magical on some level, but the words also are supposed to tap into the growing trend of families traveling with other families -- thus creating their own gatherings that are, you guessed it, magical.
Disney ads orbit around new ride
Susan Strother Clarke
July 23, 2003
Walt Disney World has never run national TV ads about a single ride, preferring instead to concentrate its marketing on the emotion behind a visit to the parks.
But that changes this fall.
The company's new campaign, a slate of five, 30-second commercials, will include one spot centered around the new Mission: Space thrill ride at Epcot.
So why the change?
No doubt Disney is feeling the heat from Universal and other competitors -- and in this economy, the company wants to spur travel sooner rather than later by telling people about the hot ride. Mission: Space uses some of the most advanced technology on the market -- a funky combination of simulator and a centrifuge -- to take riders on a trip to Mars. It opens officially Aug. 15.
Linda Warren, executive vice president of marketing and brand management, said Disney simply wanted to get some mileage out of a clear winner. Early reviews of Mission: Space have been unusually strong -- with some fans calling it Disney's first "F ticket" ride (outclassing the top "E" tickets of old). Warren, by the by, is a three-time rider.
It's unusual for Disney officials to take the wraps off yet-to-run advertising, but Warren said the rough cuts of the new spot look like this: The commercial, created by Leo Burnett's Chicago office, features two families. The children have just ridden Mission: Space, and the parents ask whether it's scary. The kids, of course, lie. The parents jump on and scream to high heaven as their rocket takes off.
No word on the value of the campaign, which kicks off in October, but Disney generally measures these things in multiple millions of dollars.
But here's something Big D won't be paying for: Hewlett Packard, a corporate sponsor of Mission: Space, is planning to include the ride in a future ad for its computers. Nothing like a little free TV time.
MORE ON THE MIGHTY MOUSE. Look for the upcoming TV campaign to be centered around the theme "magical gatherings."
Warren was mum on the topic, but other company insiders say those words may replace the "where magic lives" tagline now used in ads. (Disney is big on magic; remember the "100 Years of Magic" campaign that began in 2001?)
But what exactly is a magical gathering?
Well, any visit to Disney is presumably magical on some level, but the words also are supposed to tap into the growing trend of families traveling with other families -- thus creating their own gatherings that are, you guessed it, magical.
