Goin’ Hollywood

There’s a savvy new couple in Tinseltown, and we don’t mean another titillating pairing of a svelte young actress and a hunky stud. This match has been made between ageless ad powerhouse J. Walter Thompson USA and white-hot producer/talent agency Brillstein-Grey Management. The union, to be known as ???JWT, will hope to do its own matchmaking, bringing advertisers together with entertainment programming.

The buzz around Hollywood is that this goes way beyond the typical product placement or licensing deal and will involve more cozier stuff – right down to creative development of movies and TV shows.

And if the partners need to get tough, they will, considering Brillstein-Grey’s parent, Basic Entertainment, produces such heavy hitting programming as The Sopranos, Just Shoot Me, and Politically Incorrect.

The alliance will “put advertisers in close proximity to the prime movers of popular culture to create breakthrough ideas that surround their brands with compelling entertainment experiences, from in-store to the Internet, in order to connect with consumers,” says Bob Jeffrey, president of JWT New York. Jeffrey will entrust ???JWT’s ambitious efforts to Marina Hahn, JWT’s executive vp-strategy and entertainment.

Indianapolis-based sports retailer Finish Line caught a big one, signing a co-marketing deal with Nike Inc., Beaverton, OR, to carry exclusive Nike-branded running shoes and apparel. The deal sends Finish Line dashing to establish its 410 stores across the country as “the premier destination” for Nike running gear. Expect to see likenesses of Olympic sprinter Maurice Greene and other Nike endorsers popping up on in-store displays as the Sydney Games approach this September. To promote its largest marketing campaign ever, Finish Line hired Cliff Freeman & Partners, New York City, to handle TV, print, online, and grassroots running events targeting teens and young runners.

Big names in burgers and bikes have teamed up, as Wendy’s Restaurants, Dublin, OH, and Boulder, CO-based Schwinn will co-sponsor a five-person BMX race and dirt-jumping team. The gist: Wendy’s will push pedaling in-store, and race-goers will find themselves wishing for a bacon-and-cheese combo at a BMX event. For six weeks beginning May 1, Wendy’s will run a Kid’s Meal promo offering Schwinn-licensed premiums including playing cards and sunglasses and a sweepstakes to win a Schwinn BMX bike and other hot-wheeling goodies.

Pioneer online grocer Peapod, Skokie, IL, has cultivated a pact for Sara Lee Corp. to conduct online consumer research for packaged meat and bakery goods. Fellow Windy Citizen Sara Lee joins Colgate-Palmolive, Kraft Foods, Kimberly-Clark, Nestle USA, and other packaged goods marketers in Peapod’s Consumer Directions research service, launched last year.

Online premium service supplier whatshotnow. com, Los Angeles, signed a deal with the Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association to be its exclusive partner for online e-commerce services. Whatshotnow.com will help redesign and host LIMA’s licensing.org Web site and assist with other online initiatives. The company’s client list includes Fox Broadcasting, MTV, Playboy, and singer Alanis Morissette.

McDonald’s Corp., Oak Brook, IL, signed a promotional deal with Global Style Images and DMC Licensing, Del Mar, CA, to use Fingerboard brand miniature skateboards in a Happy Meal promotion later this year.

Omnicom sisters ad agency DDB Chicago and healthcare communications specialist Frank J. Corbett have joined forces on DDB Corbett, a shop that will bring direct-to-consumer and professional healthcare advertising under one roof. The agency’s first client is Vaniqa Cream, a hair-removal treatment being marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb and the Gillette Co.

Collectible Concepts Group, Doylestown, PA, acquired mini-v.com, the personal Web site of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me star Verne Troyer. As part of the deal, Troyer will serve as the official spokesperson for both his site and the Official Austin Powers Collector’s Club (powersclub.com), which CCG operates through a licensing deal with New Line Cinema.

Bob Vitagliano, former ceo of the Society of Incentive & Travel Executives (SITE), has launched V Associates, a San Juan Capistrano, CA-based consultancy for performance improvement and incentive strategies.

Promotional products maker Nelson Marketing, Oshkosh, WI, changed its name to 4imprint in recognition of the success the company’s 4imprint.com Web site has enjoyed. The $150 million company recently signed a three-year deal to supply products to Appleton, WI-based Appleton Papers.