Advertising Age articles from December 2006

Advertising Age archives from December 2006

most e-mailed stories; What our readers are passing around.(News)
December 4, 2006... 1. Anheuser-Busch Ups Ad Spending, but Broadcast Will Miss Out 2. Anheuser-Busch to Distribute InBev's Imported Brands in U.S. 3. P&G, Others Build Mobile-Marketing Budgets 4. Black Friday Shopper Spending Jumps 19% 5. The Old...

Petiquette; Here are TBWA/Chiat/Day's guidelines for pets in the workplace.(Business of Life)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... 1. Dogs brought to the agency should be kept on a leash at all times. When you're at your desk, the leash should be attached to something so the dog can't wander. 2. Dogs should not be brought to "dog free" zones, which include restrooms,...

People & Players.
December 4, 2006... New York: Gay pride Commercial Closet Association honors MTV Networks and Orbitz.com for "inclusive excellence in portrayals of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals" in their advertising. (From l.) Michael Wilke, executive...

Images of the Week; STARBUCKS: Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, ORe.(Work)
December 4, 2006... 'Tis the season for tradition. Creative directors: Jed Alger, Danielle Flagg. Art director: Karen Hite. Copywriter: Will Ulbricht. Illustrator: Lucy Davey.

Diller defends his compensation package.(Barry Diller of IAC Advertising Group Inc.)
December 4, 2006... Byline: bradley johnson By 12:42 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2005, Barry Diller-earning about $894 per minute-had made more money than the average American worker would make all year. Such is life at the top for the chairman of meandering...

NBC shines during sweeps, then rejiggers its schedule.(National Broadcasting Company Inc.)
December 4, 2006... Byline: JAMES HIBBERD And ABBEY KLAASSEN jhibberd@tvweek.com, aklaassen@crain.com At the close of November sweeps, ABC and CBS both fared well enough to be named winners, with CBS taking the crown for total viewers and adults 25-to-54...

Tale of the Tape: Wii vs. PS3.(Nintendo Wii, Sony Playstation 3)
December 4, 2006... Byline: beth snyder bulik It was Main Street vs. the Mean Streets as next-generation video-game consoles Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3 both launched in late November. The family-marketed and well-stocked Wii flew off the shelves in...

CENTURY 21's beto casas: Vidal Partnership, New York.(Multicultural)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Beto Casas is the first-time home buyer's best friend, even though the friendly, young domino-playing Century 21 real-estate agent exists only online (at BetoCasas.com). In a series of Spanish-language webisodes, Beto guides the Galvan family...

Global highlight: Shanghai's latest mall, Daning: The Life Hub.(The World)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Byline: normandy madden To trumpet the opening of Shanghai's newest destination shopping center to its young target audience, the developers of Daning: The Life Hub went online. Daning has about 100 tenants, including coffee shops,...

Whatever happens, Roth will be OK.(chairman Michael Roth of Interpublic Group of Companies Inc.)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Byline: bradley johnson If Interpublic Group of Cos. were sold, Chairman-CEO Michael Roth could get severance equal to three years' pay-some $6 million to $8 million. If there is a change in control, he also could immediately cash in stock...

CBS gets the silent treatment.(CBS Broadcasting Inc. is witnessing growth in viewership after showing clips on YouTube )
December 4, 2006... CBS is quite happy with its director channel on YouTube. So happy that it sent out a press release touting the fact that the 300-plus clips the company has uploaded to the video-sharing site have garnered 29.2 million views. What makes CBS even...

Drop the Wii controller! It's time for a media quiz.(MediaWorks)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Simon Dumenco For crying out loud! Already?! Really?! Yes, really. Three months have somehow elapsed, which means it's time again for the quarterly Media Guy Media Studies Pop Quiz. All books and papers off your desks now! ...

Why it's OK to make mistakes; Game-changing execs explain why risk taking can often trump research.(Advertising Age Event: 2006 Media Mavens)
December 4, 2006... Byline: ABBEY KLAASSEN And NAT IVES aklaassen@crain.com nives@crain.com Media executives these days have to choose between falling up or falling behind, a panel of pros said at Advertising Age's Media Mavens awards luncheon last week,...

Advice from the Media Mavens: Here's $9.5 billion worth of answers.(Advertising Age Event: 2006 Media Mavens)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... With $9.5 billion worth of media spending represented by the Media Mavens at last week's awards luncheon, it seemed a good time to pick their brains. Here's what they had to say. On keeping up with emerging media: Sean Finnegan, U.S....

DILLER LEADS TOP EXECS IN 2005 PAY; IAC/InterActiveCorp chief makes off with $295 million, while Apple CEO Jobs earns $1.(Steve Jobs and Barry Diller)
December 4, 2006... Byline: BRADLEY JOHNSON bjohnson@crain.com The average american worker last year made about $37,000, a meager 1.7% gain over the previous year. The average CEO did a bit better: $14.4 million in pay, up 51%, according to Advertising...

Media owners take heed: P&G's staid old website has you licked.(Procter & Gamble Co., trends in internet marketing)
December 4, 2006... Byline: JACK NEFF jneff@crain.com Believe it or not, those boring corporate websites are pulling in more eyeballs-and more influencers-than the flashy prime time TV shows, print magazines and general interest sites on which marketers...

Viacom keys in on comedy to monetize internet video; Ad-friendly content on iFilm, Atom could help sites challenge YouTube.(News)
December 4, 2006... Byline: ABBEY KLAASSEN aklaassen@crain.com Viacom is getting serious about its online-video strategy-by betting heavily on comedy. When Atom Films relaunches today, it will be a playground for aspiring video producers hoping for...

Pediatricians demand cuts in kids' advertising; Group calls on Congress to halve the amount of child-targeted TV spots.(News)
December 4, 2006... Byline: IRA TEINOWITZ iteinowitz@crain.com "It's as dangerous for pediatricians to make recommendations about advertising as for me to write a prescription for a child's ear infection,'' said Dick O'Brien of the American Association...

No joke: DDB brings on 'SNL' alum; EXCLUSIVE: Writer heads to Chicago office to help punch up Bud.tv efforts.(Matt Piedmont)
December 4, 2006... Byline: JEREMY MULLMAN jmullman@crain.com Live from chicago, it's... Bud.tv! DDB's Windy City outpost has hired a former "Saturday Night Live'' writer and producer to lead its efforts to build an online TV network for...

If Fox did it, the brand would've been tarnished. Luckily, it didn't.(Fox News Network L.L.C. canceled the proposed television specials on O.J. Simpson)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Byline: meredith deliso Despite admonishing fingers pointed Fox's way, 62% of readers do not feel the network will suffer long-term damage from the O.J. Simpson debacle. "Yes, a bad initial decision, but a quick turnaround means it...

THIS BUD'S FOR COPYCATS: BGD LAUNCHES IN CHINA; New A-B product could be payback for 1893's 'Miller Budweiser'.(Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc. launched Budweiser Genuine Draft in China)
December 4, 2006... Byline: JEREMY MULLMAN jmullman@crain.com During the early 1890s, Miller Brewing Co. provoked the ire of Anheuser-Busch by bottling its own "Budweiser,'' complete with a version of the iconic A-B lager's now-familiar red label. More...

Not much holiday cheer at Wal-Mart; Retailers' sales gains slip to 2.3%, but giant's fall worse, with 0.5% decline.(News)
December 4, 2006... Byline: MYA FRAZIER mfrazier@crain.com Wal-mart's finding a lump of coal in its stocking. Not only has the world's largest retailer warned Wall Street it will report a same-store sales decline of 0.5% in November-which includes...

The tangled Nielsen family tree.(ACNielsen Corp.)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... 1923 Arthur Charles Nielsen establishes ACNielsen Co., essentially founding market research by conducting market tests of new product ideas. 1936 ACNielsen begins radio market measurement with nationwide sample of 800 homes. 1950s The...

And now a few words from Mandel.(Jon Mandel)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Jon Mandel is a master of the colorful-and provocative-quote, and is not above bashing the media industry and its primary measurement provider, Nielsen. Here's a sample: On talks between NBC and Turner Broadcasting to form their own pro...

Nielsen tasks Mandel with proving ads work.(Jon Mandel joins Nielsen Connect)
December 4, 2006... Byline: JACK NEFF jneff@crain.com to the advertising industry's everlasting shame, it's been unable to reliably measure the all-important relationship between marketing and sales. But now, the industry's top research provider is...

Haggar, Crispin flush decency down the toilet.(Garfield's AdReview)(Crispin Porter and Bogusky)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Bob Garfield To quote the immortal Joseph Welch, "At long last, have you left no sense of decency?'' Have you no sense of boundaries? Have you no sense of decorum? Have you no sense of respect? At long last, have you no sense...

AdWatch.(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Bradley Johnson TurnSignals Average spending per household rose 6.9% in 2005, the fastest clip since economic expansion resumed in 2001, according to an annual government survey. (Previous growth: 3.9% in '01, 2.9% in '02,...

P&G lets consumers trash Tide to Go on message boards.(Procter & Gamble Co.)
December 4, 2006... Byline: jack neff What's a marketer to do when consumers say its cleaning product smells like puke? In P&G's case, the answer is nothing. Some people have complained that Tide to Go stain-remover pens ruin clothes by leaving yellow...

GM plows ahead into Toyota's turf: hybrids; Eyes piece of Japanese company's 75% share, launches electric SUVs.(General Motors Corp., Toyota Motor Corp., sport utility vehicles)
December 4, 2006... Byline: JEAN HALLIDAY jhalliday@crain.com When Americans think of hybrids, they think of Toyota-and that's a problem for General Motors Corp. The Japanese automaker's head start in hybrids has given it a 75% share of the segment....

All I want for Christmas is an $80,000 luxury car; Gifts account for up to 20% of December sales; most buyers are men.(News)
December 4, 2006... Byline: JEAN HALLIDAY jhalliday@crain.com What's on your Christmas list-a Lexus, a Jaguar or a Lincoln? While it may seem excessive to some to put a $75,500 XK Coupe (figuratively) under the Christmas tree, luxury-brand dealers...

A maven in his day; TV ad expert dies at 87; OBITUARY: Arthur Bellaire penned three books, had byline at 'Advertising Age'.(Arthur J. Bellaire)(Obituary)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Byline: MEREDITH DELISO mdeliso@crain.com Arthur j. bellaire, a veteran authority on TV advertising, author and columnist, passed away last week after a brief illness. He was 87. Mr. Bellaire wrote for many trade journals,...

Look at them grow: U.S. Hispanic agencies thrive; Target English speakers, lure first-time advertisers to fuel double-digit gains.(Multicultural)
December 4, 2006... Byline: LAUREL WENTZ lwentz@crain.com U.S. hispanic ad agencies kept up their double-digit growth in 2006 as they lured first-time Hispanic advertisers into the market, expanded their offerings in areas such as digital, and continued...

When business literally goes to the dogs; WORK PETS: Some hail as 'dose of humanity,' but canines court problems.(Business of Life)
December 4, 2006... Byline: ALICE Z. CUNEO acuneo@crain.com Wieden & kennedy Creative Director Mike Folino had a lot of experience with pets in the workplace. As a letter carrier working his way through college, Mr. Folino once was surrounded by a pack of...

One good reason your brand should be prepared for YouTube.(Viewpoint)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Jonah Bloom It is even better Now that we're the same Two great companies come together Now MBNA is BofA You can probably take it from there, but it should be pointed out that the chorus included the phrase...

mediaworks news.(Briefs)(Keith Turner leaves NBC Universal Inc.)(Mary Berner to be appointed chief executive officer of Reader's Digest Association)(Maurice R. "Hank'' Greenberg bought New York Times Co.'s class A shares)
December 4, 2006... NBC President-Sales Keith Turner leaves; GE exec likely replacement After more than eight years as NBC's president-sales, Keith Turner left the Peacock last week, becoming the third major executive to leave in a month. He follows Randy...

Out of Site at AdAge.com.(Viewpoint)(falling wine consumption in France)(consumer behavior during Christmas shopping)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... As seen on TheScotsman.com Forget beer gut; France suffering from wine glut If France suddenly declares war on Australia, here's why: "More than eight million liters of this season's production of Beaujolais wine is being turned into...

A food guide for surviving suburban offices.(Mullen Advertising Inc.'s Wenham office has its own cookbook)(Tony Bennett's 20-city tour)(Young & Rubicam Advertising posted the accomplishments of Ann Fudge on the web)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Ken Wheaton Conde Nast, eat your heart out. You might have a couple of fancy-pants cafes, but ad agency Mullen, tucked away in Wenham, Mass., has its own cookbook. And it's not one of those sad little...

Time is ripe for WPP changes.(Ann fudge is leaving Young & Rubicam Brands, Ed Meyer's contract at Grey Global Group is up at year end)
December 4, 2006... Ann fudge is leaving Young & Rubicam, and Ed Meyer's contract at Grey Global is up at year end. And so goes a changing of the guard at two of WPP's agency networks. It's an appropriate time for both to leave the stage. Ms. Fudge,...

The new musical expressway.(digital music communities, trends in marketing music in United Kingdom)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Jon Wilkins The U.K. has always been a place for musical revolutions. In 1963 the U.K. music paper New Musical Express announced the arrival of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Marketing music to the public then was pretty...

Top O.J. brands juice up marketing; Tropicana, Minute Maid justify jacked-up prices after bad growing season.(Tropicana Products Inc.)
December 4, 2006... Byline: STEPHANIE THOMPSON sthompson@crain.com Consumers confronted by high orange-juice prices in the coming year will be paying for more than a bad growing season. They'll be paying for more marketing as Minute Maid and Tropicana...

CHI New York? Best Buy taps U.K.'s hot indy shop; If work for retailer goes well, 5-year-old agency could open U.S. office.(Clemmow Hornby Inge)
December 4, 2006... Byline: EMMA HALL ehall@crain.com [london] U.K. shop Clemmow Hornby Inge hopes its U.S. debut-a campaign for the New York launch of Best Buy Mobile stores-will have as much impact as its telecoms work in the U.K. For TalkTalk, a...

Telemundo's 'Chicas' embraces marketers; P&G, others nab integration deals with reality show.(Proctor & Gamble Co.)(Telemundo Communications Group Inc.)(Toyota Motor Sales USA)(T-Mobile)(Maybelline-Garnier)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Byline: LAUREL WENTZ lwentz@crain.com Five major marketers are being written into a lifestyle-based reality show debuting next month on Telemundo's Mun2. The revamped NBC Universal-owned cable channel is targeting the fast-growing...

Auto ekes out 2.3% ad-spending boost; Competition, launches prevent decline; 2007 outlays to hit $11.1 billion.(News)
December 4, 2006... Byline: JEAN HALLIDAY jhalliday@crain.com The U.S. auto industry, the largest ad category in the country and the bellwether for yearly ad spending, barely increased spending in 2006 and will likely come up flat in 2007. And had it not...

Word-of-mouth: The real action is offline; Research shows 90% of WOM conversations occur face to face or by phone vs. only 7% online.(Viewpoint)
December 4, 2006... Byline: ED KELLER And JON BERRY At the association of National Advertisers annual conference in October, marketing heavyweights such as Procter & Gamble, Wal-Mart, MasterCard, Burger King and Yahoo heralded a common theme considered heresy...

Why $425M in spending won't work for ConAgra; Critics unsure if plan to prioritize top brands will lead to long-term growth.(News)
December 4, 2006... Byline: STEPHANIE THOMPSON sthompson@crain.com It worked for Kellogg and Hershey, but analysts and observers have their doubts that ConAgra can successfully single out its priority brands-and follow through on its promise to spend more...

Edward H. Meyer.(Grey Advertising Inc.)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Years at Grey: 50 Ultimate Grey pay: $500M+ School: Economics degree, Cornell Career: Bloomingdale's: executive training program; Biow Co.: copywriter on P&G's Lava soap; Grey: started in account service on P&G's Lilt home...

Heat Index; Weekly rating (0-10) of sizzle & fizzle.(MediaWorks)(sale of Reader's Digest Association Inc. to Ripplewood Holdings L.L.C.)(Jon Mandel joined NielsenConnect)(American Broadcasting Companies Inc. stoped the program "The Nine")(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... 10 - Tom Ryder The sale of Reader's Digest Association to Ripplewood was a very good deal for Chairman Ryder, reportedly at least $4.5 million richer once the deal's finalized. 7 - Jon Mandel Longtime MediaCom-er switches sides. Leaves No....

Arnell shows thinking outside the box can be more than a cliche.(Viewpoint)(Peter Arnell)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Randall Rothenberg A home fire extinguisher, available only at Home Depot, so sleekly designed it's destined to sit on a living-room shelf rather than under a kitchen sink. A healthful-snack-food company fronted by boxing great...

After just 50 years, Meyer exits; EXCLUSIVE: Grey chief is set to retire, and he's got a cool $500M in his pocket.(Ed Meyer retire from Grey Global Group)
December 4, 2006... Byline: BRADLEY JOHNSON bjohnson@crain.com It looks like Ed Meyer is finally ready to retire from Grey Global Group after putting in 50 years and taking out a half billion dollars. The contract of Mr. Meyer, who turned Grey into...

Magazines finish flat, but hope for better Q1; 'Maxim,' others report increases for early '07 as luxury brands buy space.(News)
December 4, 2006... Byline: NAT IVES nives@crain.com The year that started off slowly then turned in a series of quarters flat in ad pages is... ending flat, essentially repeating 2005. That's the discouraging macro view for anyone looking for overall...

A brief history of Dentsu deals.(News)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Byline: bradley johnson Dentsu, with its insular culture and domination of its home market in Japan, long has operated on a separate plane from other global ad firms. But Dentsu twice has played a strategic role in bankrolling mergers. ...

And the domination game goes on.(advertising agencies)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Byline: bradley johnson Okay, so it's still a hypothetical-and strongly denied by Maurice Levy-but what if Publicis were to merge with Interpublic? Well, the combined company would have estimated revenue of $11.8 billion based on 2006...

Stars align for Big Bang, the sequel; Publicis' hunger for acquisitions could spark another wave of consolidation- with IPG, Havas and Aegis among the few choice targets left.(Publicis Groupe, Interpublic Group of Companies Inc.)
December 4, 2006... Byline: MATTHEW CREAMER mcreamer@crain.com Get ready for Big Bang Part Deux, a new period of ad-industry deal-making with a decidedly French twist that could make an already small field of major players even smaller. Since 2001,...

What's Hot With Gamers; Violence - and not many advertisers - mark most popular titles.(News)
December 4, 2006... Byline: beth snyder bulik What video game will be in your stocking? Check the list below. Market researcher BrandIntel culled the web for discussions and chatter, and, using a proprietary formula, crafted a list predicting the hottest...

Bayer puts $200 million media account in play; EXCLUSIVE: Maker of Aleve, Alka-Seltzer, other drugs opens up review.(Bayer HealthCare AG)
December 4, 2006... Byline: LISA SANDERS lsanders@crain.com Bayer is about to become a big headache for at least one media-agency chief. Just a week after Advertising Age revealed that Johnson & Johnson plans to launch a huge global media shakeup...

Programming Guide.(News)
December 11, 2006... readers' response AdAge.com readers are having their say. Join the discussion at AdAge.com On the news that San Francisco removed cookie-scented strip from bus-shelter ads: Now it's the scent Gestapo. While honorable in its...

Adwatch.(Brief article)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Bradley Johnson Turnsignals U.S. measured ad spending rose a modest 3.8% in the third quarter, vs. gains of 5.3% in Q1 and 2.9% in Q2. January-September rose 4%. Admarket 50 Focus on: Amazon.com (AMZN) Amazon.com...

Corrections.(Correction notice)
December 11, 2006... The source for the top 10 advertisers in Spain was InfoAdex (a TNS partner). See chart from Global Marketers Special Report (AA, Nov. 20, P. S-6).

The execution challenge: Unilever.(Unilever Group)
December 11, 2006... As part of its Path to Growth initiative, Unilever aimed to divest entire swaths of its brand portfolio. Despite the aggressive cuts, the company fell short of its goals due to a number of factors. 27 In 2000, disposed of 27 businesses...

How to make swag sparkle; Gifts should be useful but still go for indulgence.(Business of Life)(Brief article)
December 11, 2006... So what's it take to score high on the swag scale, and to keep your goods from being re-gifted? Giftcorp President Sheila Schechtman has designed gifts for some of the world's top companies, has some pointers. Make it useful. Turner...

People & Players.
December 11, 2006... chicago: Hello Moto Food & Wine VP-Publisher J.P. Kyrillos cooks with chefs from restaurant Moto at the eighth annual Food & Wine Entertaining Showcase. (From l.) Moto Pastry Chef Ben Roche, Mr. Kyrillos and Moto Chef Chris Jones. ...

Images of the Week.(Work)
December 11, 2006... 75 Years of the Coca-Cola Santa St. Nick has come to town-to a Jazz at Lincoln Center exhibit featuring Haddon Sundblom's paintings of the jolly old elf for Coca-Cola, originally commissioned by D'Arcy in 1931. Those unable to travel to...

The dying page-view metric.(measuring website traffic)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Steve Rubel As we all are quite aware, underneath the internet advertising economy is a key metric that dictates how properties are valued and how online media is bought and sold: the page view. While it's not the only way to...

Post-click marketing: How to finish a web sale; Ion Interactive develops system to turn online visitors into customers.(Digital)
December 11, 2006... Byline: ABBEY KLAASSEN aklaassen@crain.com You just moved into a new home and need insurance, so you go to Google and search for "homeowner's insurance.'' It brings up all sorts of links-some sponsored, some not. You click on one of...

Up for '07: WPPoogle, the death of 'Life' and Four A's wrestling.(marketing industry forecasts)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Jonah Bloom You've finished playing pin-the-tail on next year's budget, and the media agencies have published their annual guesses-sorry, forecasts. It must be time for me to weigh in with a few predictions. Those of you with...

Draft dealt staggering blow after strutting like a champ.(DraftFCB's advertising contract with Wal-Mart did not materialize)
December 11, 2006... Byline: LISA SANDERS lsanders@crain.com Howard Draft last week went from hero to goat in the time it takes an Aston Martin engine to turn over-or not turn over, as the case may be. On Monday, the newly merged DraftFCB was being...

SUCCESS MEANS SLIMMING DOWN; BRAND PORTFOLIOS: Package-goods companies are learning that bulky portfolios can be costly, but cutting the fat can be high-risk surgery.(CMO Strategy)
December 11, 2006... Byline: NIKHIL BAHADUR, EDWARD LANDRY And STEVEN TREPPO There has been a wave of supersizing in the consumer-package-goods industry, as firms have spent decades growing in every direction, sometimes through acquisitions that doubled or...

A COGNITIVE APPROACH TO YOUR BRAND PORTFOLIO; If you get the consumer to think, you get him to feel. Then, not only will he buy your brand, he'll buy into it.(CMO Strategy)
December 11, 2006... Byline: PETER ARNELL Note to brand managers: Your job is about to change. It is going the way of the Morse-code operator, the file clerk and the mechanical artist with a T square. Put your resume up on Monster ASAP. Or, shift your...

It's been a good 5 years-unless you're in media; During recent economic uptick, ad spending has grown slower than GDP.(News)
December 11, 2006... Byline: BRADLEY JOHNSON bjohnson@crain.com The recession officially ended five years ago last month, and an upturn in ad spending began the following May. But for media, the recovery has been... depressing. To be sure, U.S. ad...

Annual blizzard of booty hits adland; SWAG: What to do with grist pouring into office? Bring in the re-gifters.(Business of Life)
December 11, 2006... Byline: ABBEY KLAASSEN aklaassen@crain.com Last year, just before Thanksgiving, there was a special delivery to the 14th floor of MediaVest's midtown-Manhattan offices-more than 50 stuffed, life-size pandas courtesy of Discovery...

Pushing envelope Julie's MO-not Wal-Mart's.(Julie Roehm, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Bob Garfield This is about the perils of nature photography. But first, an exploration of human psychology. Why do bank robbers return to the scene of the crime? Why do daredevils try to jump river gorges on motorcycles? Why...

Sam's successors share blame for Wal-Mart shame; The review rollback is just the latest stumble- is anyone left untainted?(Wal-Mart Scandal)
December 11, 2006... Byline: JACK NEFF jneff@crain.com Sam Walton must be rolling in his grave. The big question is what his son, Rob Walton, chairman of Wal-Mart Stores, will do about it. More specifically, can CEO Lee Scott-and the people he hired to...

Unruly Julie and the scandal that rocked the ad world; Why Wal-Mart fired its change-agent marketer Julie Roehm-and the agency she hired.(Wal-Mart Scandal)
December 11, 2006... Byline: MATTHEW CREAMER mcreamer@crain.com A glamorous young change-agent kicked to the curb by the ultraconservative retail giant that had hailed her as savior months earlier. Swirling stories of sex, bribery and lychee martinis. ...

Street cred in Harajuku.(A Bathing Ape)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Dave McCaughan Ask young Asians which city they would most like to visit for inspiration, and they will tell you Tokyo. For real inspiration, go to Harajuku, a little suburb of windy alleys that for over a decade has been the home...

Global Highlight: Bartle Bogle's "Keep Walking".(Bartle Bogle Hegarty's campaign for Johnnie Walker Ltd.)(Brief article)
December 11, 2006... Byline: emma hall Johnnie Walker celebrates human potential in a global spot that brings a new strategic insight to its long-running "Keep Walking'' campaign by Bartle Bogle Hegarty. The "Human'' spot by Bartle Bogle, London, broke in...

Chinese carmaker's push threatens Western rivals; SAIC launches upscale sedan, targets consumers who favor foreign brands.(Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corp.)
December 11, 2006... Byline: NORMANDY MADDEN nmadden@crain.com [shanghai] As the Chinese aggressively build their own brands, China's second-largest carmaker is striking fear in automakers around the world. Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corp., long a...

Media spending in '07? Don't expect big boost.(News)
December 11, 2006... Byline: NAT IVES nives@crain.com Want one forecast rather than five forecasts? Media spending next year will be depressingly flat. If you don't like that Ad Age conclusion-which is based on a thorough analysis of the history of...

Third time's the charm?(re-launch of Radar magazine)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Nat Ives "Practice makes perfect,'' Maer Roshan is saying, by way of defending his decision to re-re-launch Radar magazine. "We've got five issues under our belt.'' That's two for the first iteration, in 2003, and three that were...

Finance chiefs on the march into ad sales; TREND WATCH: Yahoo, NBC, other media bigs bring in the CFO-types.(News)(chief financial officers)
December 11, 2006... Byline: ABBEY KLAASSEN aklaassen@crain.com Here come the number crunchers. Sue Decker's ascension last week to run Yahoo's ad-sales operation is the latest sign of a major shift in the way media companies are reacting to fierce...

Gem sellers launch blitz against 'Blood Diamond'; DeBeers, others build PR effort to counter movie's harsh take on industry.(News)
December 11, 2006... Byline: T.L. STANLEY tstanley@crain.com The action thriller "Blood Diamond'' is kicking up more than Oscar buzz. The Warner Bros. movie, premiering Dec. 8, has thrown the diamond industry into spin control. The World Diamond...

Magazines dabble in e-commerce; Deals let Delivery Agent sell products from pages of 'People,' 'Maxim' online.(News)
December 11, 2006... Byline: NAT IVES nives@crain.com It's not what we usually mean by "pay for play,'' but there's a new way for magazines to, well, get paid for play. In the latest effort to monetize every bit of magazine content any way possible,...

The sky's not even the limit in today's naming-rights frenzy.(Viewpoint)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Rance Crain Do you think that people reach their limits when it comes to looking at advertising, and anything over those limits has a negative effect? My theory is that people don't object to advertising when it appears in...

Media Morph: MyTriggers.com.(Digital)(Brief article)
December 11, 2006... Byline: mya frazier What it is: A comparison-shopping site aimed at the lazy bargain hunter. Shoppers can visit MyTriggers.com and put in the prices they would be willing to spend on certain items, and MyTriggers searches the web for them....

DISNEY CHANNEL: A FRESH-FACE FACTORY; Property's a launching pad for multitalented, mom-approved icons.(News)(Walt Disney Studios)
December 11, 2006... Byline: T.L. STANLEY tstanley@crain.com Disney channel, long considered an also-ran against high-profile competitors such as Nickelodeon, has become a power broker by creating a talent incubator that's churning out some of the most...