hawthorne direct Takes Home First Place and Second Place 2006 Mobius Awards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fairfield, Iowa – hawthorne direct, the direct response TV advertising agency, recently received notification from the 2006 Mobius Awards competition of winning first place for the DRTV commercial “Relax, It’s a Lawn-Boy,” and second place for the infomercial “Legends of Rockabilly.”

“The Mobius Awards acknowledges creative achievement worldwide and hawthorne direct is honored to be included twice as a Mobius winner with those top agencies, circling the globe,” said Timothy R. Hawthorne, founder, chairman and executive creative director of hawthorne direct.

“Relax, It’s a Lawn-Boy” DRTV Commercial Description:

Creative and production for the 60- and 120-second spots, Relax, It’s a Lawn-Boy, was handled by hawthorne direct. The DRTV commercials offer consumers the ultimate mowing machine by Lawn-Boy that customizes to the height and speed of the user. Lawn-Boy offers to DRTV consumers a $30.00 rebate, a two-year No Worry warranty and a durable all-weather cover valued at $30.00. The Lawn-Boy commercial introduced an easier way to mow with the ultimate mowing machine. It features the powerful Easy Start Engine and the Push and Sens-a-Speed™ Self-Propel System with no handles to squeeze or levers to push. It automatically senses and adjusts the mower to the user’s speed. Its patented sliding action handle moves in and out as the user moves naturally, signaling walking-speed changes that instantly and automatically slow down or speed up the mower to match the user’s pace. The SimpleSet adjustable handle with a soft comfort grip moves up and down to match the user’s height. This all means the mower is essentially personalized for the particular user whether short or tall, with short strides or long strides. The mower customizes to fit the user. The Lawn-Boy features and Easy Lift Bag that quickly lifts with one hand and drops directly in place. The Quick Start Lever affords fast and easy storage. The Lawn-Boy may be stored upright or folded flat.

“The Legends of Rockabilly” Infomercial Description:

Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins – these are some of the names from an era that changed music forever. They called it Rockabilly long before they called it Rock and Roll. And without Rockabilly, Rock and Roll wouldn’t exist. The Rockabilly infomercial introduces the ultimate music collection – 113 original classic recordings from some of the greatest legends in Rockabilly music. Digitally restored and refurbished, it includes a three-hour documentary that tells the incredible story of Rockabilly in the words and music of the legends themselves, offering never-before-seen live footage of Rockabilly legends at their best. Some of those legends include Roy Orbison, Gene Vincent, the Everly Brothers, and many more, as they changed music and defined a whole new era. Hosted by Kris Kristopherson and Jerry Naylor, lead singer for the Crickets, the music featured in the show takes you back to the roots of Rock and Roll, when they didn’t just make music, they made history. The infomercial targeted music lovers of all ages, especially the older generation of Baby Boomers who remember of the music of this era.

The Mobius Awards is the oldest independent advertising competition in the world. Founded in 1971, The Mobius Awards provides an international forum through which advertising agencies, creatives, production and post-production companies, designers, TV and radio stations, as well as advertisers can attain recognition for creative endeavors. Judging is conducted worldwide by industry professionals. Entries of similar subject matter are judged together within the same medium. Automotive advertising is judged against other automotive advertising, food advertising competes against food, etc., - just as it is in the marketplace where consumer selection is the ultimate judge.

hawthorne direct is a full-service direct response advertising agency, specializing in creative and production, Long- and Short-form media buying, telemarketing/fulfillment management and integrated marketing. hawthorne is celebrating 20 years of excellence in direct response television. The agency is a founding member of the Electronic Retailing Association (ERA) and valued member of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and the DMA Broadcast Council.