Lancaster, Pa.—Consumers are now seeing a new message from America’s leading maker of hard-surface flooring: “Armstrong. Your Ideas Become Reality” is the tagline for the new consumer ad campaign that currently appears in national magazines. “The ‘reality’ campaign is designed to make an emotional connection with homeowners interested in renovations, educate them about flooring options and build traffic for dealers,” said Roger Oates, vice president of residential marketing for Armstrong. “This campaign will resonate with those in the 25-to-54 age bracket, who we know take a keen sense of pride in their homes.” The campaign consists of seven to nine print ads for three product lines—genuine linoleum, vinyl and laminate flooring. Single- and double-page ads are appearing in national shelter and women’s service magazines such as Better Homes & Gardens, Country Living, Ladies’ Home Journal, Martha Stewart Living and Real Simple. Ads also will appear in special-interest publications such as Kitchen & Bath Ideas and Remodeling Ideas, and French versions will appear in select Canadian publications. The ads will be running for the rest of the year.

Designed by BBDO Worldwide division of Omnicom Group, the campaign reflects a variety of decorating styles, and each ad offers a glimpse into other people’s lives. The featured room scenes also tie into the mill’s newly renovated Web site (www.armstrong.com) that helps consumers browse an array of flooring options and identify local retailers. In other news, Armstrong has doubled the number of color options in its Connection Corlon line of inlaid commercial vinyl sheet flooring by adding 12 colors. Now offered in 24 colorways, Connection Corlon features a stone-like, jaspe visual that incorporates the subtle accent colors seen in natural minerals. The jaspe chips are further defined through the use of an inlaid mortar construction. Connection Corlon is styled and constructed for use in healthcare, educational, institutional, retail and Main Street applications.

Many of the new colors include a mid- to darker-value shift for ease of color coordination. And, most of the patterns have a dark accent color that helps hide dirt and traffic wear patterns. As Amstrong stylist, Pat Wertz, said, “We’re not only doubling the color options, we’re creating a totally color-integrated line of flooring with a broad range of tone-steps in cool and warm neutrals, plus jeweltones. The color palette, consisting of complex neutrals as well as four fashion colors, is designed around a natural design theme. This nicely counter-balances the high-tech materials that are used in many commercial interiors.” The 12 color additions to the Connection Corlon line are: Limestone, Sand-stone, Asian Tan, Turtledove Gray, Pewter, Otter Gray, Purple Mountain, Misty Lilac, Peach Tree, Coral Cloud, Cappuccino Brown and Smoky Taupe. “The coordination potential within the Connection Corlon collection is now virtually unlimited because the colors, value ranges within colors, and base/accent colors are integrated with each other,” said Wertz.

“Connection Cor-lon’s pattern and colors also coordinate with other Armstrong Sheet and tile floors for even more design flexibility.” In terms of performance, Oates noted, Connection Corlon features a protective urethane finish that can help reduce both initial and ongoing maintenance, and increase scuff resistance. In addition, the floor’s embossed surface texture and highly accented chip/mortar visual help hide dirt and wear patterns in high traffic areas. For more information on Connection Corlon vinyl sheet floors, call 877/276-7876.

Finally, genuine linoleum flooring from Armstrong now carries a special “square-in-square” symbol on all retail samples to distinguish it from the more familiar vinyl flooring products. The distinction that makes linoleum genuine is that it contains cork, noted Oates, in addition to other natural, renewable raw materials such as linseed oil, limestone, resins, wood flour, mineral pigments and jute. Armstrong, originally a cork manufacturer, first launched genuine linoleum as a new flooring category in the U.S. almost a century ago. Linoleum not only became the flooring that built the Armstrong name, it also became a generic name for vinyl flooring, Oates noted. “We’ve re-created an important category for a new generation of floor buyers,” he said. “Many people still use the terms vinyl and linoleum interchangeably. We wanted to help our retail customers easily differentiate between these two products on the showroom floor, and the ‘Genuine Linoleum Symbol’ is designed to do just this.” For more information on Armstrong and its products, call 717/396-4197. —Louis Iannaco