Advertising Age articles from December 2007

Advertising Age archives from December 2007

ARDEN NAMED AD AGE PUBLISHER AS DONATON HEADS TO EW.(News)(Allison Price Arden and Scott Donaton appointed)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Advertising Age promoted Allison Price Arden to be its next publisher, succeeding Scott Donaton, who Dec. 10 becomes publisher of Time Inc.'s Entertainment Weekly. In her new role, effective today, Ms. Arden will oversee all print, digital...

Sid Evans goes on from NYC and gits to Garden & Gun.(Adages)(editor at Field & Stream)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Ken Wheaton The bear-wrestling, fish-killing crews of Field & Stream and Outdoor Life gathered last week to say goodbye to Sid Evans, the former editor of Field & Stream, who's trading in a New York desk and the great outdoors for...

A-B pits Michelob against the craft crew; Work from new agency Euro shifts brand away from import category.(News)(Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc.)(Boston Beer Company Inc.)(Euro RSCG Worldwide Inc.)
December 3, 2007... Byline: JEREMY MULLMAN Anheuser-busch is deploying its Michelob brand against surging craft beers. Creative from the brand's new agency, Euro RSCG, Chicago, closely mimics recent spots for leading craft brewer Boston Beer Co.'s Sam...

EBay CMO tracking ... everyone; How Linton plans to battle Amazon, growing list of other retail rivals.(News)(Interview)
December 3, 2007... Byline: ALICE Z. CUNEO Ebay has replaced one of its top sellers, shifting chief-marketing-officer duties from Gary Briggs, who brought the online auction house into the mainstream, to a veteran package-goods and retail marketer, Mike...

R.J. Reynolds pulls out of print; Congresswoman says tobacco giant's decision doesn't go far enough.(News)(R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico))
December 3, 2007... Byline: NAT IVES And EMILY YORK After a series of public attacks from some members of Congress, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco has decided not to advertise its brands in newspapers or consumer magazines during 2008. Several times this year,...

How hard should I party at the office holiday shindig? ask brad.(Talentworks)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Brad Karsh There are a few things you should know before embarking on the office-holiday-party season: 1. "Open bar'' does not mean "all you can physically drink and still stand (or not).'' 2. Never slow dance to the song "Shout''...

What you can learn from Dru's 'Disruption' at TBWA (part three).(Bookstore)(How Disruption Brought Order: The Story of a Winning Strategy in the World of Advertising)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Mark Tungate Every agency needs a shtick to hit its clients with. Few agencies have wielded one as effectively as TBWA with its concept of "Disruption.'' In case you still haven't grasped the theory, TBWA Worldwide President-CEO...

Deutsch wins Sony's $150M PlayStation biz; Account move breaks up a 13-year relationship with TBWA/Chiat/Day.(News)(Interpublic Group of Companies Inc.)(Omnicom Group Inc.)(Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Byline: RUPAL PAREKH Interpublic group of Cos.' Deutsch, Los Angeles, has won the $150 million PlayStation advertising account, executives familiar with the matter said. Deutsch's win-for which it beat out Publicis in the West,...

CMOs MUST BRING CUSTOMER FOCUS BACK TO DIGITAL GOALS; PRIORITIES: Technology's influence can't trump marketing's in expanding internet strategy.(CMO Strategy)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Peter Noel Murray Priorities: Technology's influence can't trump marketing's in expanding internet strategy the cmo needs to take control of the corporate internet strategy. Why? To ensure that new technologies initiate and...

MEET THE NEWEST HIGH-POWER CMOs.(News)(Mike Linton appointed at eBay Inc.)(Dermot Boden appointed at LG Electronics Inc.)(Bill Lamar appointed at McDonald's Corp.)
December 3, 2007... Byline: AD AGE STAFF Kowing your CMOs isn't easy in these days of two-year tenures. This year has seen new honchos appointed at four of Ad Age's top 20 Leading National Advertisers, and this week alone three more ad sheriffs join major...

Visa's short films show the world to Chinese consumers; Credit-card giant sends crews to past Olympic sites to inspire travel, highlight sponsorship of '08 Games.(The World)(Visa International Service Association)
December 3, 2007... Byline: NORMANDY MADDEN [shanghai, china] Visa International is tapping the growing prestige of filmmakers in China and a booming travel industry to showcase its global sponsorship of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing with a short-film...

Global highlight: Samsung.(The World)(CHI & Partners)(Samsung Company Ltd.)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Byline: emma hall [London] Samsung is hoping to make its G800 phone stand out from the pack by emphasizing its superior camera in a global launch campaign that positions the phone as the ideal way to express your feelings. The...

Nick show captures bigger audiences online than on TV; 'Yo Gabba Gabba' has turned into a viral sensation with 17.8 million streams-by more than just kids.(Digital)
December 3, 2007... Byline: ANDREW HAMPP Either kids have gotten really web-savvy (quite likely) or adults are starting to spend more time watching shows geared toward the preschool set (even likelier). Exhibit A: Nick Jr.'s "Yo Gabba Gabba'' has become an...

The Heat Index; Weekly rating (0-10) of sizzle and fizzle.(MediaWorks)
December 3, 2007... 10 Writers Strike reprieves In a normal TV season, weak shows like CBS's "Cane" and Fox's "K-Ville" might already be gone. But now networks need them. 8 TiVo NBC signs on as the first broadcast network to use the original DVR company's...

Microsoft plans blitz to fend off Apple, Google.(News)
December 3, 2007... Byline: MATTHEW CREAMER Microsoft bigs have long been fond of poking fun at competitors, like last year when Bill Gates publicly played down the threat of Google's word-processing program, saying it had fewer functions than even the...

Starbucks' animated animals put even us in holiday spirit.(Garfield's AdReview)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Garfield's Ad Review In pale pastels and rough-hewn animation, a woman offers a bearhug. To a bear. A chilly window washer accepts a hot beverage from two Jewish penguins. A man takes pity on a shivering reindeer. And yet it is...

Consumers will connect the dots between brands.(Viewpoint)
December 3, 2007... Yes, critics are succeeding in painting Unilever as the paragon of hypocrisy for running self-esteem boosting work for Dove while portraying young women as oversexed boy toys in Axe spots. But that doesn't mean the company should give up the...

Promos sway CE shoppers; Sales, special offers wise moves for Circuit City, others.(News)
December 3, 2007... Byline: BETH SNYDER BULIK This just in: Men and women shop differently. Shopping for a big-screen TV is an exciting process for men, who definitely find it easier than shopping for groceries or shoes. For women, it's stress-inducing and...

Can you keep your train wrecks and has-beens straight? Time again to test your needless knowledge of Britney, Fox Business, Old Spice (Girls) and more.(MediaWorks)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Simon Dumenco TIME AGAIN TO TEST YOUR NEEDLESS KNOWLEDGE OF BRITNEY, FOX BUSINESS, OLD SPICE (GIRLS) AND MORE It's somehow almost the end of the year, and so it's time again for the quarterly Media Guy Media Studies Pop Quiz....

Social search sites such as Mahalo challenge stalwarts; on digital communications.(Digital)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Steve Rubel Search is broken. Of course, with Google at more than $600 a share, 91% of us using search engines and studies showing we're largely satisfied with their results, it's easy to discard this statement. The problem,...

Media Mavens are making a list and checking it twice.(MediaWorks)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Andrew Hampp What does Tony Palmer, chief marketing officer of Kimberly-Clark, want for Christmas? A complete restructuring of the advertising-service industry, that's all. At last week's Ad Age Media Mavens event, Mr. Palmer...

Chasing cool? The secret to making your brand stand out is looking in.(Bookstore)
December 3, 2007... Byline: MATTHEW KINSEY Think back to the days of high-school dances and college mixers. Ever feel surrounded by people much "cooler'' than you? Not wealthier, more talented or prettier-but cooler. You were forgetting something: You were in...

OPTIMIZE ME! What happened when Reprise Media tried to juice our reporter's search results.(News)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Matthew Creamer As with many stories about the internet, this one begins with porn. Deep into an October drinking session with the management team at Reprise Media-a firm you might not have heard of but one that works for huge...

Remember what's important.(CMO Strategy)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... To maximize the potential of the internet, the CMO must take the lead in developing and researching applications that will resonate with the customer. Steps that the CMO can take include: 1. PUT COMMUNICATION FRONT AND CENTER. ...

Out of Site at Adage.com.(Viewpoint)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... As seen on AdAge.com/ songsforsoap Let Bob Marley rest in peace All I can say is wow. Is Converse serious? Not only does Nintendo have the reigns of the "Mii'' and "Wii'' pun, but "One Love/People Get Ready'' has been inextricably...

Under Armour, Nike plot cross-trainer comeback; Forgotten-but-not-gone kicks sidelined by fashion shoes since Bo was big.(News)
December 3, 2007... Byline: JEREMY MULLMAN Remember cross-trainers, the versatile if clunky sneakers that grew explosively in the late 1980s and early 1990s? Nike and Under Armour do, and they're betting big on the shoes for 2008. In fact, the competition...

Dentsu seeks dismissal of sex suit; Japanese ad giant says it will countersue if Biegel action moves forward.(News)(Dentsu Tec Inc.)(Steve Biegel senior Vice President at Dentsu America)
December 3, 2007... Byline: RUPAL PAREKH After steve biegel's salacious sexual-harassment and discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. arm of Japanese ad giant Dentsu made headlines last month, his former employer and bosses answered back in New York federal...

Golden's Arches will look a lot like Lamar's.(News)(Neil Golden succeeds Bill Lamar as the new marketing vice president at McDonald's USA)
December 3, 2007... Byline: EMILY BRYSON YORK Marketing-chief shifts normally leave agencies sweating and marketing departments paralyzed as everyone awaits the inevitable change in direction. But as Neil Golden takes the U.S. CMO reins from longtime Arches...

What You Say; THE question: Is it a good idea for Starbucks to begin running national TV ads?(News)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Byline: ken wheaton 56% said Starbucks should give old fashioned TV advertising a try. A large number of people simply said, "Why not?'' or "What could it hurt?'' Evan Brown of Jay Advertising wondered why the question even came...

NBC's pod plan: Share top slots; 'Hybrid' spots that promote both marketers and shows are net's latest ploy to keep viewers in seats.(News)(National Broadcasting Company Inc.)
December 3, 2007... Byline: BRIAN STEINBERG TV networks have long reserved the choicest spots during commercial breaks for promoting their own shows, but as advertisers demand better, more-accountable ways to reach consumers more inclined to skip the ad...

What Mad Ave. can learn from thinking outside of Kleenex box.(Madison Avenue Inc.)(Kimberly-Clark Corp.)(Column)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Jonah Bloom "We have an advertising service industry that has been built... as a manufacturing system for 30-second ads. The challenge for the industry and the challenge for us as a consumer-goods company is to rethink the way we...

WHAT VERIZON'S MOVE MEANS; Carrier opts to open up its wireless network.(News)(Verizon Communications Inc.)
December 3, 2007... Byline: ABBEY KLAASSEN and ALICE Z. CUNEO Billing the move as a "transformation point in the 20-year history of mass-market wireless devices,'' Verizon last week told Americans they will soon be free to pick new phones, ringtones, games...

Google's in; let the bidding begin; Will square off against phone, cable companies in FCC wireless auction.(News)
December 3, 2007... Byline: ABBEY KLAASSEN Google will enter a coming auction for a wireless spectrum, which, if it wins, would allow it to join cable and phone companies as a provider of local internet access and cellphone service. The search giant...

Egg on their Facebook: Users force reversal of ad approach.(News)
December 3, 2007... Byline: ABBEY KLAASSEN Consumers, in case you've been living under a rock, are in control. For the latest evidence, consider the massive outcry that erupted over Facebook's much-vaunted Beacon program, hailed as a major ingredient in...

Media Morph: Eventful.com.(Digital)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Byline: abbey klaassen What it is: A two-and-a-half-year-old San Diego-based company that calls itself a vertical search engine based on the events business. Eventful.com claims to aggregate a searchable database of more than 4 million...

AS EYEBALLS, DOLLARS CONVERGE, MOBILE MARKETING WILL EXPLODE; PREDICTIONS: Six trends that will shape, transform and further build the momentum of U.S. mobile marketing in 2008.(CMO Strategy)
December 3, 2007... Byline: BRYON MORRISON "I never think of the future. It comes soon enough,'' Albert Einstein once said. That has never been truer than in U.S. mobile marketing. Our leading brand marketers probably wish they had Einstein on their teams...

Work of the Week.(Work)
December 3, 2007... The Neiman Marcus Pop-Up Book Neiman Marcus, Dallas To celebrate its 100th anniversary, Neiman Marcus created this book with original photography. Creative concept: Ann Richardson. Creative director: Tim Flannery. Copywriter:...

How interconnected world spawned era of selfishness.(The World)(Viewpoint essay)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Ivan Pollard Language is a funny thing. We take it, reshape it and misuse it. Take the word "network,'' for instance. In my 1930 dictionary, the single definition is "any work showing cross lines like the meshes of a net.'' The...

Forecast for '08 is OK, but only online shines; ZenithOptimedia's 6.7% global growth prediction inflated by presidential election, Olympics, soccer.(News)
December 3, 2007... Byline: NAT IVES It's a good thing working in the media business is fun, because the forthcoming ad-spending forecast from ZenithOptimedia offers many reminders that it's also plenty difficult. Marketers will pour $195 billion into...

NEW YEAR NOT LOOKING HAPPY FOR MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS; In this iffy economy, only titles that rely on luxury advertisers seem optimistic; the rest are just hoping things won't get any worse. Here's a glimpse into 2008.(News)
December 3, 2007... Byline: NAT IVES Magazine publishers evaluating their accounts, studying the marketers that support them and surveying the broader business world are settling on one sure thing for next year: 2008 won't be any easier than 2007. In...

A farewell from the publisher (and former junior reporter).(Columns)(Column)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Scott Donaton Shortly after I joined Ad Age full time as a general-assignment media reporter, a Brooklyn kid just out of St. John's, Patrick Reilly left for The Wall Street Journal, and I set out to win the magazine beat he had...

Could iPhone up mobile-marketing stakes? Land Rover, others think so; Apple device's share is tiny, but its graphics, apps offer brands big ad possibilities.(News)(Land Rover North America Inc.)
December 3, 2007... Byline: ALICE Z. CUNEO If some early returns from Land Rover and 20th Century Fox are to be believed, Apple's iPhone will raise the stakes for marketers that go mobile. To be sure, the iPhone, with more than 1 million sold since its...

Now, home is where the monitoring devices are; Marketers pitch products to help consumers quell 'Did I turn that off?' fear.(News)
December 10, 2007... Byline: BETH SNYDER BULIK Do you know what your home is doing while you're at work all day? Now that monitoring products are cropping up in circulars for big-box and home-improvement stores, it could be working for you. The first...

THE MANY FACES OF LEO BURNETT; Like many other holding companies, it changes a lot. But is it just apple polishing?(News)
December 10, 2007... Byline: JEREMY MULLMAN At big ad-agency networks, the revolution is permanent these days. Given that they are massive, hard-to-alter organizations in an era when the habits of the consumers they're paid to reach change daily, it's...

Out of Site at Adage.com.(Columns)(White House Project )(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... As seen on AdAge.com/ smallagency Barker: What's the price of victory? It's the moment all of us dread. No, not the loss of a key account, since there is often little we can do about that. And no, not the loss of a pitch, since that...

Hollywood feud offers peek at DVR doomsday; Just like TiVo, strike is forcing marketers to look beyond scripted shows.(News)(digital video recorder )
December 10, 2007... Byline: JACK NEFF Could the writers strike foreshadow life without advertiser support for scripted TV programs? A media world without scripted programming-something more likely as the strike drags on-may start to look a lot like the...

Murdoch wastes no time shaking up Dow Jones C-suite; Zannino, Crovitz both exit; more departures expected this month.(News)(Rupert Murdoch)(Richard F. Zannino)(L. Gordon Crovitz)
December 10, 2007... Byline: NAT IVES Dow jones shareholders can't ratify their company's $5 billion acquisition by News Corp. until Dec. 13-but Rupert Murdoch and his men didn't let that stop their move-in last week. On Dec. 6, Richard F. Zannino, CEO of...

More Facebook apps you're sure to love eventually; Site says users will warm up to Beacon, so what's next? PubertyTrak and a program to keep you on your meds.(MediaWorks)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Simon Dumenco There's been an ongoing firestorm of protest, of course, over the launch of Facebook Beacon-a new program that automatically tells Facebook users' friends about what they're up to at partner sites including Fandango...

China on cusp of digital explosion; At AdAgeChina confab execs say nation will soon be top interactive market.(News)(AdAgeChina Digital Marketing Conference)(Conference news)
December 10, 2007... Byline: LAUREL WENTZ [shanghai] With all the advantages of scale, China is on the verge of becoming the world's biggest digital market. The country has 500 million mobile-phone subscribers and more than 122 broadband users, said...

DOES SMOG NEED AN AGENT NOW? William Morris is out to make some green by upping new clients' eco-cred. Pollution, you'll never work in this town again.(News)
December 10, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE BRODESSER-AKNER In Hollywood, even the air has an agent. So do the trains. Well, sort of. Meet Sen. Kevin Murray, a Democrat who joined Hollywood's oldest talent agency, William Morris, in January after term limits...

Guess who's seeing web traffic soar: Kraft and Co.(News)
December 10, 2007... Byline: JACK NEFF What's the hottest category in digital marketing? Package goods. Yes, you read that right. Staid old supermarket staples, once scoffed at as laggards in digital media, are charging online at an unprecedented pace-and...

Sharp moves Aquos creative to lowe, NY.(News)(Sharp Electronics Corp.)(Lowe Worldwide)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Rupal parekh Sharp Electronics Corp. is close to shifting the global advertising account for Aquos LCD TVs to Interpublic Group of Cos.' Lowe Worldwide, New York, from independent Wieden & Kennedy, according to executives familiar...

Project Kangaroo has this TV viewer jumping for joy; London.(The World)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Emma Hall Slowly but surely I've come to expect ultimate control over what I watch and when I watch it, thanks to the liberating technology of Sky Plus (TiVo to you). But I still miss things I would like to have seen, either...

NEWS from adage.com.(Briefs)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Coca-Cola Co. has tapped Muhtar Kent to be its next CEO. Mr. Kent, the company's president and chief operating officer, had been considered the front-runner to succeed Chairman-CEO E. Neville Isdell, 64, who remains as chairman until April...

Marketers' top five 2008 branding resolutions.(CMO Strategy)(Survey)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... 28% Spend more time and money understanding consumers and how to better meet their needs 18% Take more risks, recognizing that a dramatic change in strategy can reap significant rewards 16% Find more creative ways to...

How the discounters hurt themselves; Wal-Mart, Dell, others see growth stall as rivals learn how to beat them.(News)
December 10, 2007... Byline: JACK NEFF If one thing defined the marketing landscape of the 1990s, it was the power of cheap. Wal-Mart Stores, Southwest Airlines and Dell Computer reshaped their industries with low-cost models that forced competitors to...

Killing BK's King? That's a concept we can get behind.(Garfield's AdReview)(Burger King Corp.)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Bob Garfield Not saying we especially liked Speedy Alka-Seltzer. He was a little shrill and hyperactive. But it was nothing some prescription steroids and Ritalin couldn't have handled. Tony the Tiger? A harmless blowhard....

McDonald's latest ad platform: report cards; Despite industry history of promos, fast feeder gets an F from watchdogs.(News)
December 10, 2007... Byline: EMILY BRYSON YORK Mcdonald's has found a nifty way to reach kids even as TV ad options for reaching the demographic shrink: Advertise on report cards. The Golden Arches picked up the $1,600 cost of printing report-card jackets...

Whopper celebrates 50th with (wax) works and the King.(Adages)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Ken Wheaton Most golden anniversaries involve family parties and a gold-plated platter. But for Burger King's Whopper, which turned 50 this year, it was straight to Madame Tussauds. The popular sandwich bowed March 4, 1957, at...

What You Say; The Question: Do you think ad spending will rise above the rate of inflation next year?(News)(Survey)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Byline: ken wheaton 70% said ad spending won't outpace inflation in 2008. Is an overwhelming majority as impressive when voter turnout is low? We're not prepared to answer that, but the fact remains that 70% of the folks responding to...

Lingering strike threatens $9B upfront market; If walkout continues through January, nets could be short on shows.(News)
December 10, 2007... Byline: BRIAN STEINBERG And JEAN HALLIDAY If the writers strike continues until January, it will endanger the $9 billion TV upfront market. Marketers and agencies have tried for years to change the way TV time is bought and sold,...

Is CBS trying to rebrand Couric? Latest ads more Cronkite than Katie as newscast continues to trail rivals.(News)(CBS Inc. CBS News)(katie couric)(Walter Cronkite)
December 10, 2007... Byline: BRIAN STEINBERG With katie couric's perky personality and "Today'' background at the ready, her arrival at CBS to anchor the evening newscast was billed as a chance to reinvent the program in a way that would attract more women and...

Global highlight: Guaran Antarctica.(The World)(partnership between Companhia de Bebidas das Americas and Unilever Group's ice cream maker Kibon)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Byline: claudia penteado [rio de janeiro, brazil] Can a Coca-Cola popsicle be far behind? Unilever has joined forces in Brazil with AmBev, Latin America's biggest brewer, to develop and launch a popsicle version of AmBev's most popular...

How Sir Martin cinched $4.5 bil deal for Dell biz.(News)(Martin Sorrell)
December 10, 2007... Byline: MATTHEW CREAMER AND RUPAL PAREKH Since he hit the ad scene in the mid-1980s, Martin Sorrell has irked any number of managers at his agencies with his intense attention to their affairs. Now the micromanaging has paid off. Just ask...

'GOOD' MATTERS TO CONSUMERS; SELF STUDY: Altruism pays off for marketers.(CMO Strateg)
December 10, 2007... Byline: KIMBERLY ANDERSON KELLEHER Consumers are willing to pay more for purchases from a company they know to be doing good. More likely than not, you know that. So did we. What we didn't know was that the phenomenon is so powerful...

STOP DISHING OUT THE PHONINESS, MARKETERS; STANDARD OF AUTHENTICITY: The five key elements that can help you understand how to represent your identity in the marketplace.(CMO Strategy)
December 10, 2007... Byline: JAMES H. GILMORE And B. JOSEPH PINE II Amid all the other issues advertising faces, there's a fundamental problem that has received too little attention: marketers' phoniness. Marketers and their complicit agencies can't help but...

Your job for `08? Forget the recession and innovate.(Viewpoint)
December 10, 2007... Is the nation entering a recession? Or will we dodge a downturn next year? Who knows? But for marketers, agencies and media plotting plans for 2008, the recession question isn't entirely relevant. We won't even know the answer till after...

Media Morph: Google Maps with My Location.(Digital)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Byline: abbey klaassen What it is: Google Maps for your phone, with a feature that lets you see your location even if you don't have a GPS-enabled phone. If you do, it uses global-positioning technology. But if not, it triangulates your...

How to know when it's time to strike out on your own.(TalentWorks)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Sally Hogshead My heart ka-boomed as we prepared to sign the lease. I turned to my business partner, Jean Robaire, and said I couldn't go through with it. In that summer of 1998, the $2,000-per-month lease was higher than my salary...

Four essentials of Good marketing.(CMO Strategy)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... These are as fundamental from the consumer perspective as they are overlooked. But don't overlook them. through her connection to Good products, the consumer wants to feel closer to her idealized view of herself. 1. transparency ...

Digital shops fall short leading brand strategy; Forrester survey says Ogilvy, Avenue A and Sapient in best position.(News)(OgilvyInteractive London)(Avenue A/Razorfish)(Report)
December 10, 2007... Byline: MEGAN MCILROY Digital agencies must take the pole position on marketers' overall brand strategy within the next five to 10 years-but they're far from ready yet. The shops that are closest are OgilvyInteractive, Avenue A/Razorfish...

The Heat Index; Weekly Rating (0-10) of sizzle and fizzle.(MediaWorks)
December 10, 2007... 10 'ER' NBC's show, on TV for 14 seasons, airs its 300th episode, aptly titled, "300 Patients". 8 Jenna Bush on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," first daughter proves how easy it is to get her U.S. president father on the phone by calling him...

U.S. spending much less than expected; Universal McCann's Coen says '07 has only 0.7% growth, not 4.8.(UBS Global Media & Communications Conference)
December 10, 2007... Byline: NAT IVES A blizzard of year-end media forecasts-no two alike, of course-accompanied the UBS Global Media & Communications Conference last week, setting the stage for the companies' presentations and ensuring no one got too...

A CRASH COURSE FROM YUM'S 'ACCIDENTAL CEO'; Former adman David Novak on Crystal Pepsi, rubber chickens and growing up.(Bookstore)(dialogue with David Novak)(Interview)
December 10, 2007... Byline: JUDANN POLLACK David Novak, chairman-CEO of Yum Brands, parent of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, has penned a business book with the eye-catching title "The Education of an Accidental CEO: Lessons Learned from the Trailer Park to...

Why not merge with Mexico rather than fight immigration?(Columns)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Rance Crain Al ries and i have come up with the only practical solution to the Mexican immigration problem. Merge with Mexico. There is precedent here: As a result of the 1846 war with Mexico, the United States acquired a vast...

CAN COMICS SAVE THE DAY FOR BRANDS? Honda, others head to previously uncool ad space to reach legions of young-male readers.(News)(Honda Australia Proprietary Ltd.)
December 10, 2007... Byline: BRIAN STEINBERG It sounds like the plot of a superhero story. On the hunt for an elusive target-young male consumers-media buyer Sharon Enright struggled to find the right ad venue for her client, Honda. A wrong move could mean...

GM goes back to the future with regional ad groups; New system will allow local retailers to choose their own agencies.(News)(General Motors Corp.)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Byline: JEAN HALLIDAY General motors corp. is revamping its regional dealer ad groups and allowing them to pick their own creative or media agencies-putting some $500 million in billings at risk for the incumbents. "It's a...

Giant Google/DoubleClick buddies up to advertisers; With approval of $3.1B deal imminent, search giant previews its plans.(News)(Google Inc. acquisition of DoubleClick Inc. might increase the internet advertising prices)
December 10, 2007... Byline: ABBEY KLAASSEN Consumer groups and rivals have been howling over Google's $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick, arguing it will tighten competition and raise ad prices. But with the deal, expected to pass Federal Communications...

Wide range of consumers embrace new technologies; on digital communications.(Digital)(Viewpoint essay)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Byline: mike vorhaus How do people like to consume entertainment in their homes? Clearly higher-quality visuals and more control over the experience are increasingly important factors. All you have to do is look at how many people are...

Open-content model may breathe new life into online oldie CNet; Publisher rolls out innovative syndication play after seeing page views stagnate at its stable of properties.(Digital)(liberal content-syndication model)
December 10, 2007... Byline: ABBEY KLAASSEN Cnet may be the best example of a publishing giant built for the digital age, but in the internet's condensed history, it's actually, well, ancient. And to some, frankly, it was looking its age. But recently...

Why lying, not Beacon, was Facebook's biggest blunder.(MediaWorks)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Abbey Klaassen The apology is appreciated, but the `simple' motivation behind Beacon? We're not buying it. Last week Mark Zuckerberg apologized for the rollout of Beacon, a Facebook feature that allows users to share online...

The consolidation trend.(News)(advertising agencies)
December 10, 2007... Byline: ryan mcconnell Dell is just one in a long line of marketers that have consolidated-or deconsolidated-with agency holding companies over the years. Some of the relationships have worked out and some haven't. Below is a look at how...

Media Guy's Pop Pick: 'Once' on DVD (for free!); Our columnist's current media obsession.(MediaWorks)
December 10, 2007... Byline: simon dumenco If you haven't already heard of "Once,'' a wonderful little indie film that came out earlier this year, you're sure to hear about it soon-not only because the DVD will be released on Dec. 18, but because it's destined...

HEAR VOICES? IT MAY BE AN AD; A&E takes eerie approach with billboard that 'whispers' a spooky message audible only in your head in push to promote its new 'Paranormal' program.(News)(A&E Television Networks)
December 10, 2007... Byline: ANDREW HAMPP New yorker Alison Wilson was walking down Prince Street in SoHo last week when she heard a woman's voice right in her ear asking, "Who's there? Who's there?'' She looked around to find no one in her immediate...