Advertising Age articles from February 2008

Advertising Age archives from February 2008

Jimmy Choo wants more media too.(News)(AR)(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... Byline: natalie zmuda Louis Vuitton isn't the only luxury firm making strategic departures from the ordinary. British luxury label Jimmy Choo, which has had little need of advertising in the past thanks to a loyal celebrity following...

What's the best strategy for asking for a raise?(TalentWorks)
February 4, 2008... Byline: brad karsh As baby boomers begin to retire, companies are offering bigger salaries and better packages to gain and retain the best employees. Now may be the perfect time to ask your company for a raise. Most companies aren't...

People en Espanol launches online search for `51st most beautiful'; Magazine goes multiplatform for popular annual edition, asks web users to submit their own photos.(Hispanic)
February 4, 2008... Byline: LAUREL WENTZ Thousands of young Hispanics are vying to be the 51st-most-beautiful person in America. People en Espanol is building on its successful annual print franchise "The 50 Most Beautiful People'' ("Los 50 M s...

Magazines take another step in green direction; Publishers join recycling push; effort highlights print's eco-challenges.(News)
February 4, 2008... Byline: NAT IVES Some of the country's biggest magazine publishers teamed up with New York last week for a campaign enthusiastically called ReMix, for "Recycling Magazines Is Excellent!'' It's just the latest effort from the glossies to...

IT'S TIME TO UNDERSTAND CONSUMERS; TICKING AWAY: Get a handle on your target's internal stopwatch and your window of opportunity for selling big.(CMO Strategy)
February 4, 2008... Byline: JOHN ROSEN AND ANNAMARIA TURANO All cmos engage in a time-driven bargain: exchanging their time-the time they've invested in market research, marketing plans, strategy development and advertising-in return for a few minutes, hours...

DON'T OVEREMPHASIZE ROI AS SINGLE MEASURE OF SUCCESS; VARIETY COUNTS: It takes more than one benchmark to assess overall effectiveness.(CMO Strategy)(Return on investment)
February 4, 2008... Byline: TIM CALKINS And DEREK D. RUCKER Everyone loves to talk about ROI. The benchmark has firmly planted itself in the soil of marketing doctrine, widely accepted as a measure that makes it simple to evaluate marketing programs and gauge...

Media Morph: Minyanland.(Digital)(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... Byline: abbey klaassen What it is: Yet another virtual world for young'uns, only this one teaches them about finance and budgets. It's clear the kid set is keen on virtual worlds-just look at the popularity of Webkinz or Disney's $350...

The scene in Sin City.(NATPE Conference)(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... While the writers strike may have lowered some networks' standards for which reality pilots they choose to greenlight (Fox's "Moment of Truth,'' anyone?), there are still some ideas deemed too outrageous for the major programmers. The worst...

Dude, we totally had that idea years ago; Bud's hit campaign sounds awfully familiar to a few other guys.(News)
February 4, 2008... Byline: JEREMY MULLMAN Anheuser-busch is having its biggest ad breakout in five years, but agencies and radio personalities who produced similar material in the past have a question for the King of Beers: Dude, where's my credit? ...

Ad groups unfazed by DTC-drug debacles; Industry still opposes moratorium despite flap over Vytorin, Zyprexa.(News)(Eli Lilly and Co. into investigation for marketing of prescription medication)
February 4, 2008... Byline: RICH THOMASELLI and IRA TEINOWITZ First came headlines that a study showing that cholesterol drug Vytorin doesn't reduce plaque buildup in arteries was delayed by drug makers that spent millions advertising the claim. Then came news...

Hill: 4A's can learn by looking outside industry; New CEO says hearing from other biz leaders can help org stay relevant.(News)(Nancy Hill appointed as chief executive officer at Association of Advertising Agencies )(Interview)
February 4, 2008... Byline: RUPAL PAREKH When the american Association of Advertising Agencies last week confirmed Nancy Hill as its president-CEO, Ms. Hill did something no other 4A's head has ever done: She updated her status on her Facebook page. It...

Microsoft can buy second place, but can it win race?(Microsoft-Yahoo)(Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo! Inc. teams up for search engine services)
February 4, 2008... Byline: danny sullivan Was it just last week I was writing about why Yahoo shouldn't dump search? That being No. 2 is a good business? Apparently it's a $45 billion business, since that's what Microsoft wants to pay for Yahoo. ...

Not so super? The Bowl ads and new creative from Wendy's.(British Broadcasting Corp., Domino's Pizza Inc. and Google Inc. to endorse for Super Bowl Game )(Column)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Teressa Iezzi For a while there, it was a great week for brand creativity. Artist Shepard Fairey declared his endorsement for Barack Obama with a set of stunning posters. Crispin Porter & Bogusky whipped up a simply great site for...

Brits watch more ads than ever; TV-spot viewings peak at 2.25B per day in spite of DVRs, web competition.(News)
February 4, 2008... Byline: EMMA HALL Despite the runaway popularity of digital video recorders and fierce competition from the internet, TV viewers in the U.K. are watching more ads than ever before. Commercial viewings reached an all-time-high average...

TV execs: What happens here has to change; From engagement to upfront, leaders say same old won't cut it.(NATPE Conference)(National Association of Television Program Executives)(Conference news)
February 4, 2008... Byline: ANDREW HAMPP Change was in the air at last week's National Association of Television Program Executives Conference in Las Vegas. From the lingering buzz about the writers strike to NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker's...

But what will governments say? Possible regulatory obstacles to a Yahoo/Microsoft deal.(Microsoft-Yahoo)(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... Byline: ira teinowitz Congress: U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, (D-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust panel, lost little time in announcing plans to hold hearings if Yahoo OKs the deal. "We will need to scrutinize the deal...

They'll still be chasing Google; Microsoft's $44.6B bid for Yahoo still won't net the Butterfly ad-market leadership.(News)
February 4, 2008... Byline: ABBEY KLAASSEN it's the biggest acquisition Microsoft has ever attempted and the biggest ever to hit the online ad business. But what's most surprising about the software giant's bid late last week for Yahoo is how little the $44.6...

FEW MARKETERS JOIN THE RAT RACE IN CHINA; Year of Unappealing Rodent is challenge for Lunar New Year advertisers; coming Beijing Olympics gnaws up ad budgets.(News)(China Mobile Ltd.)(Coca-Cola Co. (Atlanta, Georgia))(Walt Disney Co.)
February 4, 2008... Byline: NORMANDY MADDEN [beijing] Marketers in China usually flood the media with Lunar New Year campaigns to celebrate the mainland's biggest and longest holiday season, starting Feb. 7 and lasting about two weeks. But this year, ads to...

With Louis Vuitton's big-screen turn, print no longer exclusive; Luxury brand bucks category trend by trying 90-second spot on for size.(News)(BBC Worldwide Ltd.)(Cable News Network)
February 4, 2008... Byline: NATALIE ZMUDA Louis vuitton could be heralding a new direction in luxury advertising-away from print. As the category once thought invulnerable to the economy starts to show signs of strain, the upscale fashion marketer is...

LETTERS: Realtor ads aren't completely off base.(Viewpoint)(Letter to the editor)
February 4, 2008... RE: "What Housing Crisis? Realtors' Ads Defy Reality'' (AA, Jan. 28). There's truth on both sides of this fence. This is a great time to buy for people who need a different place to live. This is not a great time for...

Merger may boost AOL's value, but buyer pool shrinks.(Microsoft Corp. offers bid for Yahoo Inc.)
February 4, 2008... Byline: nat ives Microsoft's $44.6 billion offer to buy Yahoo indirectly added $6 billion to AOL's value, if Time Warner were to sell it off. But a deal may shrink the pool of buyers who might be willing to pay that much. Speculation...

GARFIELD: MAD AVE. BLOWS BIG GAME; On their biggest day, marketers and agencies field a weak team.(News)(DDB Worldwide and Budweiser Budvar)(E*TRADE Financial Corp. and Grey (New York, New York))(Tide Products Inc. and Saatchi & Saatchi)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Bob Garfield And advertising people wonder why the public views them with contempt. The industry's annual showcase Sunday featured commercials that peddled soft porn, sold soda pop as a drug, trivialized charitable causes,...

After nearly 30 years, Isuzu takes its last ride in the States; Automaker made mark in ad history, but it wasn't enough to save the brand.(News)(Isuzu Motors America Inc.'s history in advertising industry)
February 4, 2008... Byline: JEAN HALLIDAY Adios, Isuzu. The automaker that brought Americans trucks named Hombre, Amigo and Rodeo-not to mention the "lying'' Joe Isuzu-is exiting the U.S. next January after a 28-year run. The cause of its death: failure...

The question: Do you think viewers remember which brands are advertisers in which super bowl spots? 55% said the super bowl hasn't lost its impact yet.(News)(Super Bowl Game (Football))(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... "The Super Bowl... is one of the few things keeping television advertising relevant.... So many memorable Super Bowl spots have been talked about around the water coolers for many years that a sizable chunk of consumers will remember the...

More from the Big Tent.(The Big Tent)(Dick Parsons of the Time Warner Inc. telling about his inspiration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s message)(Hispanic american's talent )
February 4, 2008... Newman-carrasco: Sundance and Super Bowl Speak to Latinos It has been a long time coming, but Latino talents, both onscreen and off, are finally breaking out of the molds in which they have been consistently cast. For every drug dealer,...

KAPLAN THALER NABS $300M LUNESTA BIZ.(News)(Kaplan Thaler Group tapped by Sepracor Inc. for the marketing of its sleep-aid brand Lunesta)(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... Byline: rupal parekh Sepracor is shifting its $300 million creative advertising account for sleep-aid brand Lunesta to Kaplan Thaler Group from McCann Erickson Worldwide following a review, according to an executive close to the matter....

Who's afraid of Micro-hoo? Not Google; As history repeats itself, Google will continue to worry about Google.(Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. merger may be a threat to the Google Inc.)
February 4, 2008... Byline: BRADLEY JOHNSON Seems like we've been here before. In January 2000, not long after Yahoo hit an all-time peak of $475 a share with a market cap above $100 billion, archrival America Online agreed to buy Time Warner in the...

Recession, eh? P&G, Colgate boost ad bucks.(News)(Procter & Gamble Co.,Kraft Foods Inc. and Colgate-Palmolive Co.maintaining or increasing their advertising expenditures)
February 4, 2008... Byline: JACK NEFF And EMILY BRYSON YORK Marketing budgets get cut in a recession, right? Not according to several of today's package-goods leaders. In a testament to how important advertising has become to their businesses, Procter &...

True confessions of a Super Bowl ad virgin; Under Armour exec offers play-by-play behind bold brand buy.(Super Bowl 2008)(Under Armour Performance Apparel)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Steve Battista No Super Bowl spot this year had more riding on it than Under Armour's dark and intense 60-second spot that was set to air in the first quarter. Consider that the marketer's stock fell more than 35%-obliterating more...

Quinceanera: Girls battle for ultimate party.(Hispanic)(15th birthday celebrations for the Latino Girls by World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. and Telemundo Communications Group Inc.)(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Laurel Wentz An elaborate 15th birthday coming-out party, or quincea[currency]era, is popular in Latin culture, and so is wrestling, but the two are rarely combined. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is holding an "Ultimate...

Did you hear the one about the 2-second spot? Weatherproof PR ploy pays as press duped by phantom commercial.(Super Bowl 2008)(Weatherproof Garment Co. advertise small spot in Super Bowl 2008)(5W Public Relations)
February 4, 2008... Byline: MICHAEL BUSH Who's your daddy, GoDaddy? Super Bowl media stunts take many forms, but a sham press release from the Weatherproof Garment Co. will go down as one of the tackier and more effective ways to get some attention around...

QuePasa attempts relaunch as social-networking site; SiTV creator Valdez opens door for portal after near shutdown.(Hispanic)(Jeff Valdez)
February 4, 2008... Byline: LAUREL WENTZ bilingual portal QuePasa is relaunching with a new team and funding after virtually disappearing during years of management reshuffling, failed technology, few ads and near-insolvency. QuePasa Corp. has signed an...

What's really wrong with a little media company called eBay; Media company? Yep. Incoming CEO Donahoe must figure out how to better market site's content.(MediaWorks)(John Donahoe)
February 4, 2008... Byline: simon dumenco Everybody, of course, has heard of eBay, the massive e-commerce company. But have you heard of eBay, the massive media company? Yeah, OK, they're one and the same. Actually, I've been arguing for years that eBay...

Media Guy's Pop Pick: 'Beautiful Children'.(MediaWorks)(Charles Bock)(Brief article)(Column)
February 4, 2008... Byline: simon dumenco Our columnist's current media obsession There's been so much hype about Charles Bock's debut novel, "Beautiful Children''-including a front-page review in The New York Times Book Review and a profile of Bock in...

Magazine-publishing elite pay tribute to Brown, Kliger.(MediaWorks)(Tina Brown and Jack Kliger of Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Nat Ives The magazine business presented its highest honors last week to Tina Brown, the former editor of titles including The New Yorker and Talk, and Jack Kliger, president-CEO at Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. The editor and the...

NET-BASHING 'BOONDOCKS' BANNED; Viral stunt or corporate censorship? Episodes of cartoon criticizing BET executives are yanked.(News)(Black Entertainment Television Inc.)(Cartoon Network L.P.)
February 4, 2008... Byline: CLAUDE BRODESSER-AKNER ''Now that's a real shame when folks be throwin' away a perfectly good white boy like that.'' It's the memorable quote from "Better Off Dead,'' the 1985 comedy starring John Cusack. Change "white'' to...

Campaign TV tally tops $175M already; Mitt Romney shells out the most , but McCain's fortunes just keep rising.(News)(John McCain)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Evan Tracey So far it's been a record-breaking political season. And everyone-from weary voters to even wearier campaign managers-hopes Super Duper Tuesday will finally establish clear winners. But while the media may be acting...

Ford almost Edges out GM with single model, $179 million spending; General Motors divides dollars among three crossover vehicles while rival zeroes in on one.(News)(Ford Edge)(General Motors Corp.)
February 4, 2008... Byline: JEAN HALLIDAY Talk about an edge. With a single model, Ford Motor Co. came close to outselling a trio of General Motors rivals in the hot crossover-vehicle segment-and it did so by outspending all three. The Ford Edge last...

How the web will-or won't-change elections; Study: Net trumps TV among under-30 set, but '08 still isn't year of digital.(Presidential Politics)
February 4, 2008... Byline: KEN WHEATON The internet's not just for reaching Ron Paul supporters anymore. An SS&K/Advertising Age survey of close to 2,000 New Hampshire voters taken just before this year's primary showed that 40% of adults had visited a...

GOOD HEALTH IS BAD FOR BUSINESS; When consumers don't sneeze, K-C and other tissue, medicine manufacturers catch cold (sales).(News)
February 4, 2008... Byline: JACK NEFF After years of media worry over the threat of avian flu or some other long-overdue flu pandemic, a few marketers are facing a difficult reality: This isn't shaping up to be the year of the big bug or even of many little...

The black Slate: the Root of controversy or opportunity?(The Big Tent)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Carol Watson In the eye of the Obama storm of excitement and debate this past week, The Washington Post Co., hoping to mirror its success with Slate.com, announced a new web magazine to "expand its online audience.'' Called The...

I might not be Latina enough for these jeans.(The Big Tent)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Laura Martinez When I read in this blog space about culturally relevant modifications to products and services, I recalled a press release I received the other day from Fiorana, an apparel maker in Fort Worth, Texas, announcing the...

Why you don't have to be Hispanic to be a successful Hispanic marketer.(The Big Tent)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Alberto J. Ferrer Just in case you're saying to yourself: "Oh, no he didn't!'' let me reiterate: I believe that you don't have to be Hispanic to be an effective Hispanic marketer. There, I said it. That's the short answer....

Out of Site at Adage.com.(Columns)(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... As seen on AdAge.com/ smallagency Martin: How much do you charge for a thought? It seems like not a week goes by that I'm not involved in a conversation with a colleague, client or both about an estimate, a fee or some form of...

AMERICAN AGENCY spoofs self in oz bank commercial; Critics call spot an 'in joke' likely lost on average Aussie.(News)
February 4, 2008... Byline: ALICE Z. CUNEO one of australia's top banks decides to rebrand itself. Its marketing chief travels the globe in a quixotic quest for what he calls the "world's best agency,'' and in doing so, he bypasses the nation's ad community...

Some at NATPE see digital as future rather than threat.(Columns)(national Association of Television Program Executives)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Jonah Bloom As the national Association of Television Program Executives met last week in Las Vegas, they were joined by the likes of Google, Brightcove, Veoh Networks and Broadband Enterprises. The web wizards and technologists...

Here's our beef: Wendy's too quick to spike branding.(Viewpoint)
February 4, 2008... Hate it or love it, the Wendy's red-wig campaign gave the burger chain something it hadn't since Dave Thomas reigned: a personality. Sure, it was a weird, creepy personality, and it borrowed a bit too much from Burger King's look, but it was a...

Google's Tim Armstrong: Web will unleash ad creativity.(NATPE Conference)(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... Byline: brian steinberg While paid-search ads online are among the most basic and utilitarian of ad units, Google's head of ad sales said the internet will spur more creativity over time-especially as image and video search become more...

Who's making a mark in mobile? Content players.(NATPE Conference)
February 4, 2008... Byline: andrew hampp When it comes to the big players in mobile marketing, forget brands and agencies. "The largest marketers in mobile today are the producers of content,'' John Hadl, founder-CEO of Brand in Hand, said at NATPE Mobile, a...

Three digital-biz models that could rock your world; on digital communications.(Digital)
February 4, 2008... Byline: steve rubel One of my colleagues posed a thought-provoking question during a recent exchange: "What new digital-business models might take hold in the next four to five years?'' This should be on the mind of every marketing and...

Does Yahoo's yen for response come at expense of brands? Portal tries to please Street by taking Google-like tack, but advertisers that rely on display fret over new focus.(Digital)
February 4, 2008... Byline: ABBEY KLAASSEN Is marketing a math problem? Google seems to think so, and it's ever more clear that Yahoo does as well, with Sue Decker and Jerry Yang leading the company. But does Yahoo pursue that strategy at the risk of its...

THE HEAT INDEX; Weekly rating (0-10) of sizzle and fizzle.(MediaWorks)
February 4, 2008... 10 Alternative TV Measurement Two Nielsen challengers make their move, as TNS teams with DirecTV and TiVo signs CBS for its StopWatch service. 7 Fox Business News Rupert Murdoch may have found a way to use WSJ reporters on the cable...

People & Players.
February 4, 2008... new york: American Business Media ABM honors leading female executives in business media. (From l.) Deirdre Bigley, VP-worldwide advertising and interactive, IBM; Peggy Walker, president-chief operating officer, Vance Publishing Corp.;...

SPECIAL ADVERTISING.(Special Advertising Section)
February 4, 2008... See publication for the following: 33: AAF's most promising minority students 34: Where are they now? 35: 2008 most promising minority students

Is new audience just a HispanoClick away for Batanga? Online music site hopes merger with ad network will attract hard-to-target Hispanic web users.(Digital)
February 11, 2008... Byline: LAUREL WENTZ Go ahead and buy them-if you can find them. U.S. Hispanics have flocked to the internet, but with few Hispanic online-advertising networks and little Spanish-language search advertising, they're not as easy for...

WHAT WOMEN WANT (ON THE NET, THAT IS); The majority of web users are female, but what are they doing when they surf?(News)
February 11, 2008... Byline: BETH SNYDER BULIK bbulik@adage.com Type in "What do women want?'' on Google's search page, and you'll get 160,000 hits. Try "What do men want?'' and you'll get just 27,000 articles. Narrow it down to "What do women want...

TO BUILD TRULY GLOBAL BRANDS, YOU'VE GOT TO BREAK THE RULES; BIG DEAL: Why communications, aspirational appeals and global media aren't all that.(CMO Strategy)
February 11, 2008... Byline: BERND SCHMITT As the executive director of the Center on Global Brand Leadership at Columbia Business School, I get a lot of phone calls from companies around the world. They are usually from managers who have read my books and are...

Conservative talk radio won't lose its bluster; Top talkers failed to derail McCain, but ratings unlikely to suffer.(News)
February 11, 2008... Byline: MICHAEL BUSH Well, that didn't go as planned. Despite the efforts of the right-wing radio's heaviest hitters, John McCain walked out of Super Tuesday with a clear lead. Not even top-rated talker Rush Limbaugh could bring down...

Dems' battle good for business; GOP contenders still spending, but Clinton, Obama drive the action.(News)
February 11, 2008... Byline: IRA TEINOWITZ The only clear result coming out of Super Tuesday is that it ain't over yet. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, locked in a tight race, will continue spending. And though big-spending Mitt Romney is out and John McCain...

Lampert should redlight Sears and back the blue light instead.(Columns)
February 11, 2008... Byline: Rance Crain My daughter Heather's solution to the Sears meltdown: Be more like sibling Kmart. Heather was thrilled when she went to Kmart to buy sheets and discovered the store's Martha Stewart Everyday line had linens with...

Reports of the Super Bowl's demise greatly exaggerated.(Viewpoint)
February 11, 2008... We come not to bury the Super Bowl as a marketing event but to praise it. It's not fashionable to admit it, but the Super Bowl is still a key pillar in many advertisers' strategies. Despite the costs, there's a sound reason for that. Say...

Schenck to team: No, Mr. Salesman, I expect you to die!(Adages)
February 11, 2008... Byline: Ken Wheaton Just when I think publishers have run through every single stunt to promote issues and motivate sales staff, Men's Journal Publisher Will Schenck chucks his team into a tank full of sharks. To raise awareness for...

Just imagine how Trump would have looked in Wendy's red wig.(Garfield's AdReview)
February 11, 2008... Byline: Bob Garfield You know that Super Bowl commercial with the cavemen? They were having trouble transporting a case of beer to a party, so they invented a wheel, carved out of a boulder. But they didn't put it on an axle and roll...

THE question: If Microsoft purchases Yahoo, do you think it will have an impact on your life and/or business? 52% said it would, and most seemed to view the deal negatively.(News)(Brief article)(Column)
February 11, 2008... Byline: jonathan lemonnier Robert Springer of St. John and Partners said the deal would slow the evolution of regional and local internet display advertising. "While Yahoo and many other internet channels have been able to meet our...

IN AN ERA OF DOWNSIZING, BIG BOOKS STAND OUT; Martha Stewart latest to launch oversize title to lure luxury advertisers.(News)
February 11, 2008... Byline: NAT IVES Last week, we learned that consumer confidence has hit a low, that employers last month cut jobs for the first time in more than four years, that retailers just suffered the worst January on record, that wage growth has...

PR 'had a good run,' but agencies expect growth to slow; EXCLUSIVE: Most shops predict revenue will increase about 10 percent.(News)
February 11, 2008... Byline: MICHAEL BUSH Even with more interest than ever from marketers, the PR business won't be recession-proof. Most agencies surveyed recently by the Council of Public Relations Firms are predicting slower growth than in the past few...

Get the best out of Millennials by tweaking habits.(TalentWorks)
February 11, 2008... Byline: CAROL PHILLIPS The millennial Generation is being closely watched as it begins to fill the entry-level ranks at advertising agencies, law firms, investment banks and corporate offices. Many believe it will be unlike other...

MARKETING, MUCH LIKE DEMOCRACY, IS GOOD FOR YOU (YES, REALLY); THINK ABOUT IT: Politicians should treat citizens the way marketers do.(CMO Strategy)
February 11, 2008... Byline: JOHN A. QUELCH And KATHERINE E. JOCZ Marketing is much maligned. Consumer advocates say it's deceptive and intrusive. Sociologists contend it encourages self-centered materialism. Cultural critics argue that it saps civic spirit...

OLD NAVY TRIES TO GET A NEW IMAGE; Q&A: Marketing chief says retailer will target women in their 20s.(News)
February 11, 2008... Byline: NATALIE ZMUDA Since joining old navy a year ago, Michael Cape has had his hands full. Sales growth at the struggling Gap Inc. division began to slow in 2003 and has been steadily declining since 2005. A makeover, it appeared,...

Hotter than that fleece ad.(News)(advertising)(Brief article)
February 11, 2008... Byline: natalie zmuda Goodbye, camp. Hello, sex appeal. As it struggles to recapture share in an increasingly competitive environment, Old Navy is reimagining itself as a fast-fashion haven for women in their 20s. The campaign,...

The price is right: What you can learn from the wine industry.(Columns)(Column)
February 11, 2008... Byline: Lenore Skenazy By now, you may have heard about that wine study done in California. Participants-very, very happy participants-were given samples of a bunch of different wines that varied wildly by price. Or so they thought....

Out of Site at AdAge.com.(Columns)
February 11, 2008... As seen on AdAge.com/bigtent Warren: Why one black creative Just walked away Ralph Ellison wrote: "I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.'' For different reasons-fear of financial and professional...

HE'S HAD ENOUGH OF YOU; FCC's Copps wants his media smaller, newsier- and less cluttered with ads.(News)(Michael Copps)(advertisements)(United States. Federal Communications Commission)(Interview)
February 11, 2008... Byline: MYA FRAZIER Michael Copps, dressed in a sports coat and plaid shirt, grips the lectern and waits for a raucous round of applause to die down. "Half a trillion dollars,'' he begins, pausing for effect. "Half a trillion dollars....

Monkeying with agencies no help to CareerBuilder; Job site's spots poll even worse in Ad Meter than those from sacked C-K.(Super Bowl 2008)
February 11, 2008... Byline: JEREMY MULLMAN A weak showing in last year's USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter got (or, depending on whom you believe, contributed to getting) CareerBuilder's agency, Cramer-Krasselt, fired. So, uh, does a significantly worse showing...

Avis: It's OK to cheat on your car; Rental company invites travelers to take a spin in a flashier set of wheels.(News)(Avis Group Holdings Inc.)
February 11, 2008... Byline: RUPAL PAREKH Avis' latest marketing strategy is to persuade you to "have an affair'' with one of its cars. In a cheeky national campaign that breaks today, the rental-car company is aiming to alter the way consumers think about...

This is your brain on Super Bowl spots; Coke got the synapses firing, but Drug Office numbed people's minds.(News)
February 11, 2008... Byline: JACK NEFF When watching spots for caffeinated and alcoholic beverages, your synapses fire and are fully engaged. When watching anti-drug spots, you come pretty close to flat-lining. In one of the odder but potentially most...

The 'choir': Media-reform movement's major players.(News)(briefs)(Reclaim the Media)(Democracy & Media Coalition)(Brief article)
February 11, 2008... Free Press freepress.net Based in D.C., its rallying cry is: "Reform media, transform democracy.'' It holds a conference every 18 months. With a staff of 33 and nearly 350,000 members, it is the biggest of the media-reform groups and...

Why Naked sold to Australian unknown; Holding co. Photon beat the bigs by promising to keep hands off hotshop.(News)
February 11, 2008... Byline: MEGAN MCILROY As a hot independent with blue-chip clients, Naked Communications had its share of suitors-everyone from private-equity firms to Big Four holding companies. So when the communications-planning network picked Photon...

As giant retailers reel, marketers gird for worst.(News)
February 11, 2008... Byline: ADVERTISING AGE STAFF Even the most optimistic had to stop and take a deep breath last week. First came the retail industry's January sales, and the gain-a meager 0.5% year over year-marked the slenderest growth since "The...

Check it out: 'Greater Good'.(CMO Strategy)(Excerpt)(Brief article)
February 11, 2008... Excerpts from "Greater Good: How Good Marketing Makes for Better Democracy,'' by John A. Quelch and Katherine E. Jocz, Harvard Business Press, 2008. "We believe that marketing itself is marketed poorly and that the social value created by...

Media Morph: Online how-tos.(Digital)(learn how to do anything-by going online)(Brief article)
February 11, 2008... Byline: rupal parekh WHAT IT IS: It's getting easier to learn how to do anything-by going online. And there are a couple of fresh players to the market. One, Quamut, quietly launched with the backing of bookseller Barnes & Noble, has...

TV, casual gaming on web take top spots for women; on digital communications.(Digital)(Brief article)
February 11, 2008... Byline: Mike Vorhaus Last month we looked at males and their favorite leisure activities. In addition to the internet and TV, gaming and sports were major standouts when it came to how guys spend their free time. This month we look at...

Super Bowl busts ratings records on 'the greatest day ever' for Fox; Most-watched game in history captures average of 97.5 million viewers.(Super Bowl 2008)
February 11, 2008... Byline: BRIAN STEINBERG An average of 97.5 million people watched last week's Super Bowl, making the riveting contest between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants the most-watched game in terms of viewers. According to...

Mehdi's argument: You need Micro-hoo; Exec says deal will up ROI, reduce complexity of running campaigns.(News)(return on investment)
February 11, 2008... Byline: ABBEY KLAASSEN It's been little more than a week since Microsoft shook up the online-ad landscape with its $44.6 billion bid to take over Yahoo. (Of course, since then, Yahoo's stock has jumped, and Microsoft's has dropped almost...