Advertising Age articles from December 2008

Advertising Age archives from December 2008

Marketers push for Mobile Tuesday as the new Black Friday; McDonald's, Finish Line, RedTag will try to stimulate post-Thanksgiving purchases with phone coupons.(Digital)
December 1, 2008... Byline: NATALIE ZMUDA Black friday and Cyber Monday have become retail mainstays, but Mobile Tuesday? Recent economic woes have eliminated many marketers' ability to invest in emerging media. Still, aggressive mobile-marketing firms...

News from AdAge.com.(News)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Nissan Motor Co. won't be participating in two U.S. auto shows this year. Nissan-one of the Japanese Big Three, along with Honda and Toyota -is pulling out of January's prestigious North American International Auto Show in Detroit, as the...

THE HEAT INDEX.(MediaWorks)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Weekly rating (0-10) of sizzle and fizzle 10 '24: Redemption' Jack Bauer's return helped Fox's ratings and reassured execs that viewers are still interested in what a new day will bring. 7 People Scratch 'N Sniff Mag gets interactive...

People & Players.(briefs)(Lucky Shops)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... new york: national breast cancer coalition gala The National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund holds its annual New York Gala. (From l.) Honoree Brooke Shields; former President Bill Clinton; National Breast Cancer Coalition President Fran...

Beagles and boat drinks: a post-Thanksgiving column.(Adages)(Column)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Ken Wheaton In light of current economic and political trends, I decided to skip the recent Adages tradition of polling people in the industry about Thanksgiving. If you're still in the industry, I know what you're thankful for:...

THE question: Will we still have a Big Three in Detroit by the end of 2009? 62% of you were doubtful about the Big Three's survival.(What You Say)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Byline: max lakin Following the heads of the country's largest automakers' sojourn to Washington before the holiday, we asked Ad Age readers if they thought those executives and their companies would still be around by the end of next...

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL WITH WIDGETS? They're cheap, easy and the perfect expression of the Post-Advertising Age. So why are marketers so slow to use them?(News)
December 1, 2008... Byline: BOB GARFIELD Some guy lives in Albuquerque, which is great, because it is sunny and really convenient to Vista Encantada and Hoffmantown. But he has relatives in Denver, a limited budget, a lot of outstanding family obligations and...

You're 'unavailable'? Then who just updated your status? on marketing and leadership.(CMO Strategy)(Column)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Jonathan Salem Baskin We live in an era when people find time during the business day to tell one another what they've just put in their coffee, yet it's still possible for an executive to be "unavailable for comment'' in a news...

TD Bank promises name is all that it's changing; Local banks work to reassure customers in shaky financial times.(News)(TD Bank Financial Group)
December 1, 2008... Byline: BETH SNYDER BULIK Regis philbin is like a lot of people: He doesn't like change. Though Mr. Philbin is playing a part in commercials for TD Bank in which he purports to be dismayed by its merger with Commerce Bank, he's...

Navigating recession with CRM, direct, online; The right message is key to staying steady in tough economy.(CMO Strategy)(Interview)
December 1, 2008... Byline: MICHAEL BUSH mbush@adage.com Roger Frizzell knows why you fly. He also knows you're frustrated by it. Not long after joining American Airlines as VP-corporate communications and advertising in late 2003-a period of time he...

Open-ended spots make it hard to break up with Yellowbook.(Garfield's AdReview)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Bob Garfield The plot is silly. The time element is Philip K. Dick weird. The chick-lit sensibilities narrow its appeal. The biggest news is missing in action. The endangered species of a medium being advertised is making its case...

A maturing Google buckles down and searches for cost savings.(News)(Financial report)
December 1, 2008... Byline: ABBEY KLAASSEN The recession is reverberating even in the freewheeling halls of the Googleplex. Proving that even the search giant isn't immune from the vagaries of the economy, Google is cutting its 10,000-strong contract...

Consumers are bugged by many ads; Study: Public less wary of economy, still wary of direct, e-mail, TV spots.(News)(Survey)
December 1, 2008... Byline: NAT IVES The addition of Citigroup to the list of powerful institutions begging for government rescue last week only reinforced the impression that everything has changed. But it might not have changed as much as you think,...

As seen on AdAge.com.(Columns)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... As seen on AdAge.com/ smallagency Johnson: Find the right partner On my long list of strategic priorities, global capabilities rank in the top three. Clients and prospects expect us to manage media, handle the creation of campaigns and...

Telemundo puts fate of TV character in hands of Sprint subscribers; Mobile users will be first to view and vote on three different paths `Sin Senos' protagonist can take.(Hispanic)(Telemundo Communications Group Inc.)(television)
December 1, 2008... Byline: LAUREL WENTZ Telenovela watchers who are also Sprint cellphone subscribers will get to decide this month what the star of Telemundo's racy hit novela should do next as she struggles with drug gangs, sexual exploitation and breast...

WOODS' AGENT: NO MORE CAR SPONSORS FOR TIGER; After amicably ending nine-year relationship with GM, endorser finds autos too 'volatile'-and even he couldn't save Buick.(News)(Tiger Woods)(General Motors Corp.)
December 1, 2008... Byline: RICH THOMASELLI Who's on the bag for Tiger Woods now that his endorsement deal with General Motors is over? Well, it won't be another car company. "Highly unlikely,'' the golf phenom's agent, Mark Steinberg of IGM told...

How to save the soap opera? Buy a car; Dying ratings, dealer ads hit Susan Lucci, other stars of 'All My Children'.(News)
December 1, 2008... Byline: CLAUDE BRODESSER-AKNER The auto-sales slide is hurting even soap-opera star Susan Lucci. As advertising dries up for soap operas-particularly from the genre's traditional mainstay, local automotive dealers-Ms. Lucci, a megastar...

Starbucks aims to build Project Red community; Will personalize holiday push with site, in-store World AIDS Day event.(News)(acquired immune deficiency syndrome )
December 1, 2008... Byline: EMILY BRYSON YORK A lot of marketers hope to move consumers with charitable tie-ins this holiday season. Starbucks, on the other hand, wants to start a movement. The coffee titan is aligning with Project Red for a holiday...

GM's bailout business plan could cut Pontiac, Saturn and Saab.(News)
December 1, 2008... Byline: JUDANN POLLACK And BRADLEY JOHNSON It looks as if Pontiac, Saab and Saturn could be on the General Motors endangered-brand list-and with them some $300 million in measured-media spending. According to a report from Bloomberg...

Repeat ad nauseam: TV spots risk driving consumers away; Fragmenting media, smaller budgets make for more of the same ads.(News)(television)(advertising)
December 1, 2008... Byline: BRIAN STEINBERG Think how many times in the past few weeks you've been subjected to Christie Brinkley in a scene from "National Lampoon's Vacation,'' speaking in dubbed lines about DirecTV; or seen Sprint CEO Dan Hesse sitting in a...

YOU MAY LOVE THE LOGO, BUT IT'S A DYING BREED; More-subtle images pack bigger punch, according to neuromarketing study.(CMO Strategy)(Column)
December 1, 2008... Byline: MARTIN LINDSTROM "make it bigger!'' an executive screamed as I desperately sought a sign-off on an ad for a major fashion brand. It wasn't the first time this situation had come up. In fact, it seemed like every meeting ended up in...

Middle road in Motrin-gate was right choice for J&J.(Viewpoint)
December 1, 2008... Johnson & Johnson did the right thing when it pulled its Motrin ads after an outcry from a minuscule but loud group of Twitterers and mommy bloggers. It made the problem disappear. A brief history of the scandal: J&J placed an online ad,...

How Google can get its mojo back in the wake of a `sell' rating; One analyst sees 'downside' and thinks stock will sink lower-but our columnist sees an opportunity.(MediaWorks)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Simon Dumenco Just before thanksgiving, the unthinkable happened. OK, sure, these days the unthinkable is par for the course-and yet it was still pretty amazing to see Merriman Curhan Ford analyst Richard Fetyko initiate coverage...

People on the Move.(TalentWorks)(briefs)(Marcus Group appointed John Margaritis)(MediaCom appointed Mark S. Piazza)(Denmark Advertising and Public Relations appointed Brent David)
December 1, 2008... John Margaritis has joined Marcus Group, an advertising, public-relations and crisis-management agency, as senior VP. Mr. Margaritis, who has more than 30 years of experience in marketing and communications, was previously chairman-North...

Unilever sees green with pared-down color palette.(News)(Unilever United States Inc.)
December 1, 2008... Byline: JACK NEFF Somewhere over the rainbow lies $5 billion in savings for the package-goods industry. Using a color-harmonization program called Project Rainbow, Unilever is reducing the more than 100 hues it uses on its spreads and...

Time overtakes Cosmo as big brand on campus; Survey finds tastes have become more serious among college students.(News)(Survey)
December 1, 2008... Byline: BETH SNYDER BULIK Among college kids' favorite brands: Facebook, Nike, iPod-and Time magazine. Those were among the findings of this year's Anderson Analytics fall survey, which since 2005 has posed a series of open-ended...

Handset marketers go on Christmas blitz; Carriers pin hopes on hot-selling smartphones to buttress Q4 sales.(News)
December 1, 2008... Byline: RITA CHANG Faced with shrinking consumer wallets and 90% wireless penetration, handset marketers are slugging it out for a place in consumers' holiday stockings with bigger and bolder marketing campaigns than ever. The fourth...

Obama, Ad Council would be smart to unify change message.(Columns)(advertising)(The Advertising Council Inc.)(Barack Obama)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Rance Crain Our country-and the entire world-finds itself in the biggest economic mess since the Great Depression, and we seem to be sinking deeper into the morass. Fear grips us all: the free flow of money and credit have been...

Jameson 'speaks' out to public; Will launch an outdoor projection campaign that targets ads at passers-by.(News)
December 1, 2008... Byline: MARISSA MILEY You're walking past Grand Central Station and spot an ad projected on the side of the building. It reads, "Maybe you drink Jameson because our ads really speak to you.'' A few seconds later, it changes: "Yes, you....

On the road: Car makers cut ad spending.(Hispanic)(advertising)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Byline: laurel wentz Auto marketers cut spending on Hispanic media 5.2% during the first eight months of 2008, according to figures from TNS Media Intelligence, but didn't slash ad budgets as deeply as in the general market. For the full...

Univision, Time Inc. suffer wrath of slowing market; Hispanic ad agencies fretting at prospect of 2009 revenue declines.(Hispanic)(Univision Communications Inc.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Byline: LAUREL WENTZ In signs of a slowing market, Univision Communications' financial results are slipping each quarter, Time Inc. is closing one of its two Spanish-language titles, and the best holiday party in the Hispanic market,...

NAZI FILMS A HARD SELL AT THE HOLIDAYS; Studios eschew 'epic' themes to tout serious movies to audiences burned out on reality.(News)
December 1, 2008... Byline: CLAUDE BRODESSER-AKNER How do you sell a Nazi film during the holidays? As Hollywood goes into a critical movie season, it's readying its largest and most ambitiously complex crop of World War II-themed films ever-half a dozen...

Creativity Top Five.(Work)
December 1, 2008... This week on Creativity's Top Five, "30 Rock's" Jack Donaghy provides a service to the Dutch; Swedish shop Daddy talks to plants for Heinz; JCPenney and Saatchi, New York, offer men a warning; Barnardo's seeks to improve the image of kids in...

LETTERS: Coors revival not due to ad spot.(Viewpoint)
December 1, 2008... I'm writing to comment on the Ad Age article that gives credit to DraftFCB for the resurgence of Coors Banquet ("Marketing 50: Coors Banquet,'' AA, Nov. 17). I'm not sure your article states the story correctly. Sure DraftFCB created the...

Getting consumers to spend $150,000 with a viral effort.(Column)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Lenore Skenazy How do you get a consumer to plunk down $150,000 nowadays? Verrrrry slowly. And with a viral ad. In fact, the process may take years, says Andy Beedle, CEO of agency abeedle.com. That's because the consumers...

Five years from now, media will be totally intangible; on digital communications.(Digital)(Column)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Steve Rubel I want to make a bet with you. I wager that by January 2014 almost all forms of tangible media will be either in sharp decline or completely extinct in the U.S. I am talking about not just print but all tangible forms...

Media Morph: Semantic web.(Digital)
December 1, 2008... Byline: marta strickland What it is: The next-generation web-the semantic web-aims to solve some of today's biggest problems in marketing. Semantics refers to the meaning behind data. Right now, computers are good at sending data back and...

People & Players.(Penry Price and Tim Armstrong has won awards)(Manny Vidal has won awards)(Brief article)
December 8, 2008... ***** Correction: RE: "People & Players'' (AA, Dec. 8). Google VP-Advertising Sales Penry Price was incorrectly identified as being inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the American Advertising Federation's...

Out of Home that stood out.(News)(A and E Television Networks)(Home Box Office Inc.)(Levi Strauss and Co.)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Andrew Hampp 1. A&E, `Paranormal State' Innovative gimmick or brain invasion? A&E provoked both praise and controversy with its New York billboard for sci-fi series "Paranormal State.'' Its "audio spotlight'' technology...

Lessons from the Obama Campaign.(News)
December 15, 2008... 1. It's the product Every marketing-services provider worth his salt is trying to claim a bit of credit for Barack Obama's victory. TV. Web 2.0. Public relations. Social networking. In-game advertising. But it's likely that Barack Obama...

Fastest- rising search terms in the U.S. in 2008.(News)(Brief article)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Source: Google 1. obama 2. facebook 3. att 4. iphone 5. youtube 6. fox news 7. palin 8. beijing 2008 9. david cook 10. surf the channel

Magazines We'll Miss.(News)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Marissa miley 1. O at Home It was "the only shelter book with the Oprah touch,'' but that wasn't enough. After four years, Hearst announced in November it was shuttering the quarterly and folding most of its content back into...

Ways to Monetize Twitter.(News)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Abbey Klaassen 1. Charge for it Of course, companies can already use the service for free, so what, exactly, would be new? Ian Schafer (twitter.com/ischafer), CEO of Deep Focus, has some ideas: more-customizable profile pages,...

Video ad efforts Creativity loved.(News)
December 15, 2008... Byline: the staff of creativity creativity-online.com 1. `Pinata' Client: Skittles | Agency: TBWA/Chiat/Day, New York After spots like "Touch'' and "Beard,'' TBWA's Gerry Graf, Ian Reichenthal and Scott Vitrone faced an...

Nonvideo ad efforts Creativity loved.(News)
December 15, 2008... 1. CNN T-Shirts Client: CNN | Agency: Barbarian Group Click on the shirt icon near selected stories at CNN.com and you can order the headline on a T-shirt. Most popular so far: "Obama Makes History'' and "Victoria's Secret Sued for...

Mistakes made when targeting tv ads.(News)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Tara Walpert Levy, president, Visible World 1. Waxing nostalgic Breaking news: 18 to 49 does not qualify as targeted TV. We know it was good enough for Hathaway Shirts and Woodbury Soap, but it's not good enough for you-or for...

Ways to bounce back stronger from tough times.(News)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Bob Liodice, president-CEO, ANA 1. Passion and leadership are imperative A successful brand needs a strong, visible leader who oozes belief in the business and the consumer proposition. That passion cascades throughout the...

People we'll miss.(News)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Dan lippe Steven T. Florio Dec. 27, 2007, at age 58 In a world of big personalities, Steve Florio brought his own brand of swashbuckling panache to Conde Nast Publications. He was named CEO in 1996, during a time when...

Follies.(News)(The Hershey Co. in marketing cases)(McDonald's advertising campaign)(Taco Bell to donate)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Dan Lippe 1. Sending a message Carat's U.S. chief people officer, Rose Zory, accidentally e-mailed to all employees a memo detailing a major "right-sizing,'' including layoffs. 2. Rachael's scurrilous scarf The media...

Ad Songs of the Year.(News)
December 15, 2008... Byline: charlie Moran 1. Saul Williams: `List of Demands' Nike SPARQ Training The genre-slapping poet, actor and musician Saul Williams has never really cracked the mainstream, but this sportswear ad featuring a 4-year-old song...

Most Questionable Ad Songs.(News)(Bally Total Fitness Corp.)(Sears, Roebuck and Co.)(Toyota Motor Corp.)(Brief article)
December 15, 2008... Byline: charlie Moran 1. `Saved by Zero' Toyota Would this list mean anything if we didn't include what many consider the most annoying ad jingle of all time? 2. Will.i.am: `One More Chance' BlackBerry This isn't...

Top Olympic Moments.(News)(Brief article)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Normandy Madden 1. The agony of defeat China's most famous athlete, Liu Xiang, shocked the country by pulling out of the games. His departure was a psychological blow to China and an economic hit for his many sponsors, which...

Reasons Chinese Consumers Won't Save the West.(News)(Brief article)
December 15, 2008... Byline: normandy Madden 1. Slow growth The country was overdue for a major cyclical downturn. GDP growth has fallen below 10% for the first time in more than five years. 2. World Bank blues The World Bank revised China's...

Ways to Waste Time on the Web.(News)(Brief article)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Abbey Klaassen 1. traveler's iq Quick, can you point to Bucharest on a map? Traveler's IQ (travelpod.com/traveler-iq), from Travelpod, is our newest favorite way to waste time. 2. someecards The brainchild of a couple...

Recession-Proof Businesses.(News)
December 15, 2008... Byline: ad age staff 1. Soup Most of the time, it's sex that sells. But in a down economy, soup ain't doing so bad either. It's one of the few things, besides hamburgers, that you can eat when you're broke. And most people will tell...

Dubious attempts at Public Relations.(News)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Michael Bush 1. Recession special The recession was a godsend for flacks everywhere. It gave them the hook they needed for lame press release after lame press release, claiming that some marketing solution was the cure-all for...

Hagiographic cover treatments of Obama.(News)(Brief article)
December 15, 2008... 1. Newsweek, Jan. 14 "Our time for change has come'' 2. Black Enterprise, January "Why Barack Obama should be president" 3. Time, March 10 "How much does experience matter?" 4. Rolling Stone, March 20 "A new...

Words or phrases we're tired of hearing.(News)
December 15, 2008... Right-size Cautiously optimistic Consumer-centric world Flight to quality Hand-crafted beverage Monetize 360-degree integrated marketing Tweet Bailout Optimization

Major Agency Shifts of 2008.(News)(PepsiCo Inc. and BBDO in deal)(Wachovia Corp. and Ogilvy & Mather in deal)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Rupal Parekh 1. Brand Pepsi taps TBWA PepsiCo moved its flagship Pepsi brand from the agency that made it the choice of a new generation, BBDO Worldwide, to sibling TBWA/Chiat/Day. The beverage giant spent about $162 million on...

People Who Made Their Mark.(News)
December 15, 2008... Byline: ad age staff 1. David Axelrod Chief strategist of the Obama campaign as well as a close friend of the candidate, the former Chicago Tribune reporter played a dual role in the campaign, also serving as its highest-profile...

People to Watch in 2009.(News)
December 15, 2008... 1. Carlos Brito, CEO, InBev How he proceeds with Anheuser-Busch's iconic marketing machine will have a profound impact. 2. Alan Mulally, president-CEO, Ford Mr. Mulally told Congress recently that unlike GM and Chrysler, Ford...

Books You Should Have Read.(News)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Matt Kinsey 1. `Grown Up Digital' Don Tapscott Its alternate title could be "In Defense of the Net Generation.'' Tapscott's report on findings from a $4 million private research study indicate that children of baby boomers...

Digital Predictions that Didn't Pan Out.(News)(internet advertising growth forecasted)(Google Inc.'s services)(The Christian Science Monitor to go digital)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Abbey Klaassen and Michael Learmonth 1. Online advertising will grow 29% in 2008 As late as November 2007, forecasters predicted a huge year for online advertising in 2008, and stuck with it even as the economy started to...

Viral videos you should have seen.(News)(Brief article)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Michael Learmonth 1. Katie Couric's interview of Sarah Palin 57.7 million views of all segments; uploaded Sept. 25 The gaffe-filled interview, which exposed Palin's lack of expertise in foreign policy, became a viral...

The Bobby Awards.(News)(Awards list)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Bob Garfield This is it! The 11th-annual Bobby Awards, recognizing the best acting in commercials in 2008. Call the girls and huddle around Ad Age. The pageantry! The excitement! OMG , the outfits! Best Performance by an...

Ads Garfield HATED.(News)(National Association of Realtors)(DirecTV's spendings on its advertising)(McDonald's branding strategy)
December 15, 2008... Byline: bob garfield 1. john mcCain (Foxhole Productions) The tone-and foolish strategy-of the disgraceful McCain-Palin campaign was established early, with an ad claiming Obama's "one accomplishment'' was "legislation to teach...

Ads garfield LOVED.(News)(Bud Light)(Gatorade)(InterContinental Hotels Group PLC. Holiday Inn Express)
December 15, 2008... Byline: bob garfield 1. Barack Obama An Obama speech, remixed and intercut into a chorus of famous voices, led by Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas. You know that tingle that goes up cable-news-host Chris Matthews' leg when the...

People with inspired names.(News)(Brief article)
December 15, 2008... Johnny Surprise VP, ad agency Mile 9 Wing Pepper exec VP-Microsoft worldwide account director, MRM Worldwide Jessica Ring spokeswoman, AT&T Anne Globe head of worldwide marketing and consumer products, DreamWorks...

Legal Issues to Watch in 2009.(News)(prescribed drugs marketing rules)(advertising companies in bankruptcy cases)(comparative advertising to rise due to recessions)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Douglas J. Wood Reed Smith LLP 1. A new headache for pharma Prescription drugs will get their own dose of regulation as the FDA reopens rule-making proceedings. Congressmen Henry Waxman and Ed Markey previously pushed for a...

TV Shows That Stood Out.(News)
December 15, 2008... 1. `90210' When this show originally ran on Fox in the '90s, it was seen as the video equivalent of junk food: fun going down, but the taste didn't linger on the palate. Turns out we're nostalgic for that sort of cotton candy. The...

FROM THE EDITOR.(News)
December 15, 2008... Byline: KEN WHEATON kwheaton@adage.com Is it over yet? Please tell us it's over. For many out there, 2008 isn't a year we're drawing the curtain on. It has drawn the curtain on us-kicking us in the teeth a few times. Here, at the...

Stories of the year.(News)
December 15, 2008... Byline: ad age staff 1. Barack Obama In 2008, an African-American with Hussein as a middle name was elected president of the U.S. To think, some said he'd never make it past Hillary Clinton. And Obama didn't just do it with inspiring...

Top Websites in the U.S.(News)(Brief article)(Company rankings)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Source: Nielsen Co. 1. Google 2. Yahoo 3. MSN/Windows Live 4. Microsoft 5. AOL Media Network 6. YouTube 7. Fox Interactive Media 8. eBay 9. Wikipedia 10. Apple

Top Mobile Phones in Use (Third Quarter of 2008).(News)(Brief article)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Source: Nielsen Co. 1. Motorola RAZR V3 series 9.3% 2. Motorola MotoKRZR 2.0% 3. LG VX8300 1.6% 4. Apple iPhone 1.5% 5. LG VX8500 series 1.2% 6. RIM BlackBerry 8100 series 1.2% 7. Nokia 6101 series 1.1%...

Consumerist's biggest business debacles.(News)
December 15, 2008... 1. Countrywide boss hits `Reply' It's a small mistake compared with the ones that led to the unraveling of our financial system, but it said a lot about the man in charge of Countrywide. Back in May, Chairman Angelo Mozilo replied to an...

NEWS from adage.com; Just because we're making our lists and checking them twice doesn't mean the stories have stopped. AdAge.com is your source for breaking industry news.(News)(bailout package for Chrysler L.L.C. and General Motors Corp.)(Campbell-Ewald Co. is reducing its staff)(decrease in advertising spending)
December 15, 2008... Auto bailout falls apart in senate A $14 billion congressional rescue plan for at least two of the Big Three automakers fell apart over GOP senators' demands for union wage cuts. Failure of the bill could send General Motors and Chrysler...

Garfield's Predictions for 2009.(News)(Aida Yespica to be appointed at Google Inc.)(daily newspapers to reduce their print editions)(National Broadcasting Company Inc.)(Brief article)
December 15, 2008... 1. At least three large daily newspapers will reduce their print editions to Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 2. To exploit buzz and reduce costs, NBC will take "Saturday Night Live'' to (at least) twice weekly. 3. Starting Jan. 21, the...

Top-Ranked Blogs in Ad Age's Power 150.(News)(Brief article)(Company rankings)
December 15, 2008... Seth's Blog sethgodin .typepad.com Search Engine Land searchengineland .com Search Engine Watch searchenginewatch .com Ads of the World adsoftheworld .com Copyblogger copyblogger.com Adrants ...

Random Headlines from the Adages blog.(News)
December 15, 2008... Santa Trades His Gold for Cash World Toilet Day Needs Better Marketing Say Hello to Pumpy, the Self-Hating Gas Pump Ben & Jerry's Decides Against Human Milk Extended Stay Is Toilet-Lickin' Good! Web 2.0 Cured My Cancer and...

Trends for 2009.(News)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Richard Laermer 1. Bailout for Books First people stop buying books as Wii, DVR, and Hulu make it too easy to do eye exercises. Prez Obama sinks a cool billion into life support for the publishing doofuses. Taxpayers take to...

Top iphone apps.(News)
December 15, 2008... Byline: marissa miley 1. Parve-O-meter This application counts down the time between meals so that observant Jews can keep kosher with ease. Only problem: You can't use the app, or even the iPhone, on Shabbat. (Free) 2. Shazam ...

Ad lines used by financial companies this year.(News)(Brief article)
December 15, 2008... Lehman Brothers `Where Vision Gets Built' AIG `The Strength to be There' Wachovia Bank `We're Wachovia, and we're here' Bank of America `Bank of Opportunity' Merrill Lynch `We're Bullish on the Future'...

Top regularly scheduled TV programs of 2008.(News)(Brief article)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Source: Nielsen Co. 1. `American Idol' (Tuesday) Fox 2. `American Idol' (wednesday) fox 3. `Dancing With the Stars' ABC 4. `Dancing With the Stars' results show ABC 5. `The Mentalist' CBS...

TV that let us down.(News)
December 15, 2008... Byline: BRIAN STEINBERG and ANDREW HAMPP 1. `Heroes' Producers lost their way, relying on confusing plots rather than highlighting the delightful assortment of superpowered characters that once drew audiences to this increasingly...