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• The popular Bud Light "Real Men of Genius" campaign captured the coveted "Gold Lion" award in Film/TV -- for its "Mr. Giant Taco Salad Inventor," "Mr. Way Too Much Cologne Wearer" and "Mr. Really, Really, Really Bad Dancer," at the 51st Annual Cannes Lion International Advertising Awards, announced Saturday in Cannes, France. Budweiser and Bud Light dominated the alcohol beverage category in film/TV and were honored with three Gold, two Silver and two Bronze Lion awards, while Budweiser received six "Gold Lion" awards for its "Rejected Ads" series in the "Cyber Category." Budweiser and Bud Light were collectively nominated for 29 of the 39 separate awards, dominating the short list at the Cannes Lion Advertising Awards ceremonies. (PR Newswire)
• Cadbury Adams USA LLC will be traveling nationwide with the Chiclets "Party Like a Square" dance competition where talented teens can show-off their best Chiclets "square" dance moves this summer for a variety of very cool prizes, including tickets to the hottest teen awards show of the year. Additionally, portions of the Chiclets dance competitions may appear on segments of Fox's hot new entertainment show, "Cingular Presents the Menu from Atlantis," of which Chiclets is a sponsor, so teens willing to dance on stage may find themselves on national TV. Teen idol Taryn Manning (who has appeared in feature films such as "Cold Mountain," "8 Mile," "Crazy/Beautiful") will host events in selected cities. Teens will have the opportunity to have their dance moves judged while dancing to this summer's hottest jams spun by a top DJ. The Chiclets "Party Like a Square" dance competitions are designed to celebrate the introduction of its two new fun, fruity flavors -- Citrus Samba and Strawberry Breeze -- and the hilarious antics of a brand new "pack" of colorful characters, the Chiclets People, who are all dressed up and ready to show teens how to "Party Like a Square." (PR Newswire)
• Guinness USA Inc. has announced today the launch of a new television and online advertising campaign for Red StripeŽ starring former heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis. The humorous commercial features Lewis in a confrontation with the Red Stripe Ambassador, the brand's Jamaican spokesman featured in the ongoing Red Stripe advertising campaign. The 30-second television spot encourages viewers to visit RedStripeBeer.com to see Lewis and the Ambassador square off in a boxing match. Viewers that log onto the site can see how the story develops and concludes via a short web film. The television spot and web film will debut on June 28th. Both incorporate the "Hooray Beer!" tagline used in previous Red Stripe campaigns. The TV commercial will air nationally. (Business Wire)

• Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. is introducing a low-carbohydrate option to its line of flavored malt beverages, the latest in a line of products designed to piggyback on the popularity of Atkins-style diets. The new product, called Bacardi Silver Low-Carb Black Cherry, is the latest in Anheuser-Busch's efforts to capitalize on the trendy diet. Michelob-Ultra, the company's low-carb beer, has performed strongly since its introduction in 2003. Bacardi Silver Low-Carb Black Cherry contains 2.6 grams of carbohydrates and 96 calories, compared with 32 grams of carbs and 225 calories for other Bacardi Silver drinks, Don Meyer, director of new products for Anheuser-Busch, said on a conference call. The company, which began the roll-out of the new drink on June 1, plans to promote Bacardi Silver Low-Carb with television commercials that focus on the attributes of the drink, rather than the lifestyles of consumers, Meyer said. Meyer declined to give sales goals for the drink but said it would be targeted at 21- to 27-year-old consumers. (Reuters)

• Frito-Lay has unveiled plans to reintroduce its Wow line of low-fat snack chips to consumers with a new name, Light. New packaging will tout reduced calories rather than lower fat. No new advertising push is planned for the Light launch, in part because the company is promoting Edge, its new low-carb line, and doesn't want to confuse consumers. The company will put "Whole New Look" stickers on Wow bags this month, with a national revamp scheduled for September. The Plano, Texas-based division of PepsiCo unveiled Wow in 1998. Annual sales initially topped $330 million, but sales have dropped to about $100 million a year, per IRI. (BrandWeek)

• Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. plans to introduce 7 Up Plus, a carbonated beverage fortified with calcium, vitamin C, real fruit juice and sweetened with Splenda. 7 Up Plus "represents the first fortified carbonated beverage from a major brand and represents a new category for carbonated beverages," per the company. The company is currently finalizing marketing and distribution plans for the product launch. (BrandWeek)

• Miller Brewing Co. will break new advertising in July for its Foster's Lager brand. WPP Group's Ogilvy & Mather, New York, is working on the effort for the Australian brew, said Michael Browne, director of imports and craft brews at Miller, a unit of London-based SABMiller. Details of the creative were not disclosed. Miller intends to field competing pitches for Foster's advertising from its roster agencies, as it does with Miller Lite and Genuine Draft. (Ad Age)

• General Mills will unveil a special package of Wheaties that will picture six stars from the three championship teams in WNBA history. The league is now in its eighth season. The limited-edition 12-ounce Wheaties box will be available nationally later this month and in July. (BrandWeek)

• Team 7-Eleven will attract eyeballs nationwide on May 30 during the Indianapolis 500, when Tony Kanaan tries to drive the No. 11 Andretti Green Honda to victory as part of the c-store's Indy Racing League association. Several 7-Eleven vendors, as well as the chain itself, get prominent signage on the car, including Hershey, Kraft, Nestlé and Energizer, which are happy to be on the team despite the fact that their logos will be whizzing by at better than 200 mph. (Ad Age)
  
• Gillette unveiled details for an ad campaign to support its new M3Power shaving system for men, which is due to hit stores May 24. The creative will include TV and print. POP and Internet support. Tag continues, "The best a man can get." A 30-second spot will debut May 17 on network and cable. Print will appear in magazines such as ESPN Magazine, Maxim, Men's Journal and Sports Illustrated beginning with June issues. Two NASCAR-themed ads featuring the Gillette Young Guns also are in development. Creative illustrates how the razor's internal motor sends "micro-pulses to the new, patented PowerGlide blades, resulting in the closest shave ever," per the Boston-based company. (BrandWeek)

• PepsiCo. said that it was rolling out a revised version of its Tropicana Light 'n Healthy orange juice product, which debuted in 64-ounce cartons in the United States earlier this year. It will contain 55 calories and 11 grams of sugar per 8-ounce serving, about 20 percent less than the drink that hit stores in January. A Tropicana spokeswoman said the entire roll-out would be completed over the next two months. (Reuters)

• Coca-Cola Co. unveiled an orange juice with about half the calories and sugar as regular orange juice, the latest bid by the soft drink giant to seize on U.S. consumers' desire for healthier drinks. Coca-Cola, the world's largest soft drink maker, said it had begun shipping its Minute Maid Premium Light product to grocery stores and mass merchandisers across the nation. Minute Maid is a unit of the Atlanta-based company. The new drink contains 50 calories and 10 grams of sugar per 8-ounce serving. Coca-Cola said its price would be comparable to other Minute Maid Premium 64-ounce and multipack orange juice products. The roll-out comes at a time when Coca-Cola is battling PepsiCo Inc., its main rival, for the allegiance of health-conscious consumers in North America, the largest market for the two beverage companies. (Reuters)

• Building on the incredible success of its Spider-Man marketing partnership in 2002, Dr Pepper has signed on as the exclusive soft drink of the summer's most eagerly awaited Hollywood release, Spider-Man 2, due in theaters on June 30. Starting tomorrow through July 31, customers can instantly win Dodge Vipers, Segway Human Transporters and Vespa Motor Scooters by looking in 20-ounce and 2-liter bottles, and in 12- and 24-packs of Dr Pepper and Diet Dr Pepper. Two unique packaging innovations for bottles and cans will fuel excitement. Dodge Viper winners will be notified of their win by a "talking" can. Upon popping the top of a special talking can, the consumer will hear a recorded message that says, "You have won a Dodge Viper! Please refer to the side of this can on how to claim your prize. Congratulations from Dr Pepper!" In another packaging innovation, 20-ounce and 2-liter bottle purchasers will look through the empty bottle using special "Spidey Eyes" on the back of the bottle to see if they've won. The prize pool consists of 10 Dodge Vipers, 15 Segway Human Transporters, 15 Vespa Motor Scooters, 3,000 mountain bikes, and yearlong supplies of Dr Pepper. Extensive retailer programs are planned with Kroger, Safeway, Albertsons, H-E-B, Kmart, Rite Aid, Eckerd, Exxon Mobil, Target, Speedway SuperAmerica, and Super K. (PR Newswire)

• Jessica Simpson will continue to play off her "dumb blond" persona, and this time brings her sister, Ashlee, along in a new spot to support Hershey Foods' Ice Breakers Liquid Ice breath mints. The spot, "Is It Liquid or Is It Ice?" breaks nationally May 24. In the commercial, Jessica and Ashlee debate whether the new breath mint is actually "liquid" or "ice," a takeoff on Jessica's previous flirtations with food, including thinking that Buffalo wings came from buffaloes and not knowing whether Chicken of the Sea brand tuna was chicken or tuna. Ponders Jessica, "As a busy newlywed and singer, I know how important it is to have fresh breath. Whether it's liquid or it's ice -- Ashlee seems to think it's both -- Liquid Ice does the trick. But I'm a little stumped, so I'm hoping everyone will try it, decide for themselves." Consumers are directed to a Web site, Liquideorice.com, to cast their votes and enter for a chance to win a trip to Los Angeles to meet Jessica and other prizes. (BrandWeek)

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