Media News & Current Events

Kraft's Second Quarter Shows Payoff From Marketing Efforts
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129941"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/kraft072808.jpg" width="180" height="135" alt="" /> </a>CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Kraft reported a stronger-than-expected second quarter this morning, thanks in part to increased marketing spending. Kraft's net revenue was up 21.4% to $11.2 billion, and net earnings were up 4% to $732 million from $707 million a year ago.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/348589362" height="1" width="1"/>

Unilever Sells Detergent Brands
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129940"></a>BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- As expected, Unilever today announced plans to sell its North American laundry business to Vestar Capital Partners, owner of private-label detergent powerhouse Huish Detergents, creating a bigger but still decidedly lagging No. 2 to category leader Procter & Gamble Co.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/348501318" height="1" width="1"/>

MySpace COO Explains Massive Music Marketing Expansion Plans
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129921"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/3min072808.jpg" width="180" height="135" alt="" /> </a>NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- NewsCorp's MySpace, which was recently eclipsed by Facebook as the world's largest social network, is massively expanding its music services. In this video interview, MySpace Chief Operating Officer Amit Kapur details the new move that will make the social site more attractive to bands, fans and music-marketing companies.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/348516096" height="1" width="1"/>

Stars Align With Retailers for Fall
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129882"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/10-Avril-t072808.jpg" width="180" height="135" alt="" /> </a>NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- For a healthy dose of celebrity, consumers need not look any further than their local shopping center.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/348022071" height="1" width="1"/>

Wal-Mart Preps Next Phase of In-Store TV
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129923"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/31-Wal-MartTV-072808.jpg" width="180" height="135" alt="" /> </a>BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- Despite growing talk about and investment in shopper marketing in recent years, relatively little money has flowed into in-store media. Now, Wal-Mart Stores is looking to change that as it readies a second-generation in-store digital TV and signage network.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/348022072" height="1" width="1"/>

Pick a Product: 40% of Public Decide in Store
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129924"></a>BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- For more than a decade, the oft-quoted statistic that consumers make 70% of brand decisions in the store boosted shopper marketing and made other advertising seem almost pointless. But an extensive new global study by OgilvyAction indicates that consumers aren't nearly as fickle as an oft-quoted figure suggests -- though they're still plenty receptive to changing their minds at the shelf.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/348022074" height="1" width="1"/>

Why Apple Must Tell Its Story
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129926"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/4-SteveJobs-crTimWagner-072.jpg" width="180" height="135" alt="" /> </a>NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- When Steve Jobs catches a cold, Apple sneezes. And that's why the rumors and innuendo swirling about his health are particularly serious for Apple.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/348022076" height="1" width="1"/>

How to Cut Through but Not Offend? Verizon, Snickers Latest to Fail Test
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129929"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/30-SnickersMrT-072808.jpg" width="255" height="191" alt="" /> </a>NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Late last week, an important bit of marketing news about Mars Inc. was delivered to the world through an unusual channel: a press release from a gay-rights organization that had pressured the candy giant to pull one of its ads.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/348022077" height="1" width="1"/>

Why You Seldom See Noxzema Anymore
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129930"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/3-Nozemas-072808.jpg" width="255" height="191" alt="" /> </a>BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- According to people familiar with the matter, Procter & Gamble has been trying to sell Noxzema for several months. And normally sanguine marketers who have been close to the century-old brand over the years are feeling unusual pangs of nostalgia for a once-ubiquitous product they say suffered from being pigeonholed, underleveraged and never clearly defined.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/348022079" height="1" width="1"/>

McCain Fights for Media Time
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129931"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/29-Obama-crDavidMaung-07280.jpg" width="180" height="135" alt="" /> </a>WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) -- Barack Obama owned the media battleground last week, but rival John McCain managed to hold his own.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/348022081" height="1" width="1"/>

Triarc Names Post-Merger Leaders for Wendy's
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129918"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/calwell072508.jpg" width="180" height="135" alt="" /> </a>CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Triarc lifted the curtain on its post-merger vision of Wendy's today, and it looks a lot like the past. Ken C. Calwell, the former chief marketing officer for Domino's Pizza, steps into the same role at Wendy's, and J. David Karam, one of the burger chain's largest franchisees, will take over as president.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/346078235" height="1" width="1"/>

PETA Fields Transvestite and Billboard Against KFC
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129893"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/3min072508.jpg" width="180" height="135" alt="" /> </a>NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- In the latest move of a five-year publicity war against KFC, PETA launched a transvestite and a Manhattan billboard against the fried-chicken chain this week. Located near the heavily trafficked entrance to the Holland Tunnel, the billboard includes the image of Lady Bunny and a KFC bucket hung with the head of a dead chicken. Lady Bunny, a local celebrity, is a nightclub DJ, event promoter and emcee of the annual Wigstock festival in New York's West Village.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/345590580" height="1" width="1"/>

50 Cent Sues Taco Bell Over Value-Menu Stunt
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129894"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/50cent072408.jpg" width="255" height="191" alt="" /> </a>CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Not all publicity is good publicity, at least according to 50 Cent. The rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, filed a lawsuit against Taco Bell on Wednesday for using his name and likeness without permission. Mr. Jackson claims trademark dilution, false designation of sponsorship, unjust enrichment and a violation of his civil rights, among other claims. He's seeking $4 million in damages.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/345089232" height="1" width="1"/>

Mars Pulls U.K. Snickers Ad Criticized as Homophobic
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129892"></a>NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Mars has pulled a Snickers spot criticized for being homophobic, according to a gay-rights group. This is the second time the marketer has come under fire for homophobic advertising for Snickers. It was also criticized for a 2007 Super Bowl ad in which two men expressed disgust after accidentally kissing.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/345053687" height="1" width="1"/>

OfficeMax Looks for Another Viral Success
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129886"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/pennies072408.jpg" width="255" height="191" alt="" /> </a>NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- OfficeMax is out to vindicate the much-maligned penny this back-to-school season. To back the effort, a series of 11 videos show "Dave" around New York as he attempts to buy everything from a steak dinner to a used car to a diamond engagement ring with pennies.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/345013697" height="1" width="1"/>

Ford Slashed Ad Spending by $200 Million
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129870"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/fordf150_041708.jpg" width="180" height="135" alt="" /> </a>DETROIT (AdAge.com) -- Ford Motor Co., which today reported a record global net loss of $8.7 billion in the second quarter, slashed spending on worldwide auto marketing in the period by $200 million to only $100 million.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/344819437" height="1" width="1"/>

Carl's Jr. CEO Is More Than Happy That Sex Sells
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129866"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/puzder072308.jpg" width="180" height="135" alt="" /> </a>CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Andy Puzder isn't afraid of fat. The president-CEO of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's has made a name for his chains by bragging about the caloric and fat content of products such as the Monster Thickburger and unabashedly championing meat. Mr. Puzder spoke to Advertising Age about his company's same-store sales gains, why 99-cent burgers are "garbage" and, of course, those Paris Hilton ads.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/344761232" height="1" width="1"/>

What's That Smell in the Movie Theater? It's an Ad
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129864"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/cinescent-nivea072408.jpg" width="255" height="191" alt="" /> </a>LONDON (AdAge.com) -- Popcorn, and perhaps body odor, are the scents usually associated with a trip to the movies. But in Europe, you might just smell bread, chocolate or whatever else an advertiser wants you to.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/344746317" height="1" width="1"/>

'Sex and the City' Creator Pooh-Poohs Internet as First-Run Platform
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129858"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/3min072408.jpg" width="180" height="135" alt="" /> </a>NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- As Hollywood continues to buzz over the Google deal that makes top TV writer Seth MacFarlane an internet producer, Ad Age Digital Editor Abbey Klaassen caught up with "Sex and the City" creator Darren Star for his take on the debate. He doesn't see first-run TV programs migrating to the web in a similar fashion and doubts there is enough advertising money online to support the launch of high-quality, hour-long TV dramas there. He also discusses his surprising attitudes about product placement.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/344502707" height="1" width="1"/>

Olympic Deal Sealed: Obama Makes $5 Million Buy
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129853"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/obama072308.jpg" width="255" height="191" alt="" /> </a>WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) -- It's official. Sen. Barack Obama's campaign will be among the TV sponsors of NBC Universal's Olympics coverage. In the first significant network-TV buy for any presidential candidate in at least 12 years, the Obama campaign has taken a $5 million package of Olympics spots that includes network TV as well as cable ads.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/343960417" height="1" width="1"/>

McDonald's Aims to 'Evolve' Dollar Menu
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129852"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/mcdonalds072308.jpg" width="180" height="135" alt="" /> </a>CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Admitting to problems with franchisees over a platform that's behind much of its turnaround, McDonald's is determined to tweak its dollar menu until it's profitable. In a second-quarter earnings call with analysts Wednesday, Ralph Alvarez, the chain's president-chief operating officer, cited increased commodity costs, declining margins and franchisee profitability for the change.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/343960418" height="1" width="1"/>

Magazine Publishers Look to Online Ad Networks for Needed Scale
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129827"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/3min072308.jpg" width="180" height="135" alt="" /> </a>NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- As magazine publishers struggle to build out their website advertising capabilities on the massive scale demanded by big advertisers, they are turning to ad networks and exchanges to buy online audience. This is the second installment of a report from the Contextweb ADSDAQ panel discussion about the controversial world of the internet's increasingly powerful audience brokers.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/343635366" height="1" width="1"/>

Dept. of Veterans Affairs to Begin Paid Advertising
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129825"></a>WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) -- After at least 30 years of banning paid advertising, the Department of Veterans Affairs has decided it's OK after all. Under congressional pressure, VA Secretary James B. Peake has dropped the department's longstanding ban and is about to issue its first request for proposals seeking an agency to develop communications to reach the nation's 24 million living veterans.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/342938576" height="1" width="1"/>

Mini USA Sales Surge 33%
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129814"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/miniclubman111907.jpg" width="180" height="135" alt="" /> </a>DETROIT (AdAge.com) -- Mini USA managed a whopping 33% jump in new U.S. car sales in the first half of 2008 vs. a year ago -- a major feat in the industry's worst sales year in at least a decade.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/342859546" height="1" width="1"/>

Gloomy Outlook for Back-to-School Season
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129815"></a>NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- It's still more than a month from September, but the back-to-school season is already looking bleak. A study by Deloitte found that 71% of households will spend less on back-to-school shopping this year, with 48% of consumers surveyed saying they would spend more than $100 less. "Consumers have been pessimistic for several months, primarily because of the strains on their budgets from higher gas and food prices," said Stacy Janiak, leader-U.S. retail at Deloitte. "These survey results indicate that consumers will likely stick to the basics this fall, and parents may be saying 'no' more often as they head to the register."<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/342874910" height="1" width="1"/>

Ad Networks and Exchanges: Friend or Foe of Online Magazines?
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129801"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/3min072208.jpg" width="180" height="135" alt="" /> </a>NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Are ad networks and exchanges the friend or foe of traditional magazine companies? That was a key question debated at a Manhattan Yale Club panel discussion organized by Contextweb's ADSDAQ. IAB president Randy Rothenberg, who moderated the event, emphasized that the controversies surrounding ad networks and exchanges had long been relegated to the backroom of mainstream media companies. But the size, power and potential of ad networks is now forcing the issues into the open.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/342711262" height="1" width="1"/>

Verizon Pit-Bull Ad Unleashes Flurry of Complaints
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129799"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/7-21-08-VerizonDareadpitbul.jpg" width="255" height="191" alt="" /> </a>NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Verizon Wireless has stepped into a steaming pile of complaints from animal lovers over commercials for its LG Dare phone, but the marketer is sticking with the 30-second spot.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/341945928" height="1" width="1"/>

Court Overrules FCC on Super Bowl 'Indecency'
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129789"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/jackson060106.jpg" width="200" height="150" alt="" /> </a>WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) -- Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show may have been exciting, but it didn't violate TV indecency standards, a federal appeals court ruled today in a blow to the Federal Communications Commission's hope to step up indecency standards.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/341681324" height="1" width="1"/>

Giants/Jets Stadium Naming Rights Estimate: $800 Million +
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129779"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/3min072108.jpg" width="180" height="135" alt="" /> </a>NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The naming-rights for the new Giants/Jets stadium that will open in New Jersey's Meadowlands complex in 2010 could cost some big marketer nearly $1 billion, according to Casey Wasserman. In an appearance at last week's Madison & Vine conference in Hollywood, the CEO of Wasserman Media Group, which has the contract to sell the rights, explained why the sponsorship deal will go for an all-time record price. Until now the highest price paid for stadium naming rights was a reported $400 million.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/341442130" height="1" width="1"/>

Interview with Advertising Hall of Famer Andrea Alstrup
<a href="http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=129711"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/rightrail/rance_alstrup180.jpg" width="180" height="135" alt="" /> </a>NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The Family Friendly Programming Forum, which has been primarily focused on the themes, content and language of television, is developing an interest in digital platforms. That's according to former Johnson & Johnson ad chief Andrea Alstrup who was a driving force behind the creation of the Forum in 1998. In this video interview with Ad Age editor-in-chief Rance Crain, Ms. Alstrup also looks back at her time inside Johnson & Johnson during the 1982 Tylenol recall.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/News/~4/341431903" height="1" width="1"/>

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