Advertising Age articles from March 2006

Advertising Age archives from March 2006

Beware Revolution Rock - it's no place for your brand, or for ours.(marketing forecast and trends)(Column)
March 6, 2006... Byline: scott donaton Stop hiding under a rock. If there's been a theme to this column in the last few years, that's essentially it. The marketing world is changing dramatically, relocating power to consumers and forcing the...

5 STEPS TO DESIGN THINKING.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... At Ideo, we pride ourselves on designing experiences, products, services, interactions and spaces in five steps that are deceptively simple and pretty much always the same. 1. Observe Go out into the world and look and listen to...

listening lessons; Make Consumers Part Of The Design Process By Tuning In.
March 6, 2006... Byline: Paul Bennett It used to be that getting a successful product or service or anything to market went something like this: Cook up some cool new gadget or food or cleaning gel in your lab, then conduct focus groups to "validate''...

RETHINKING THE WALLS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE.(Ian Schrager Hotels' Ian Schrager)(Interview)
March 6, 2006... Ian Schrager's name is synonymous with groundbreaking design. Chairman-CEO of the Ian Schrager Co., his career dates to the 1970s, when he founded New York nightclubs Studio 54 and Palladium with business partner Steve Rubell. In the 1980s, he...

Do you understand this DTC ad? If so, Merck will ask FDA's approval; Drug maker hopes new research protocol will speed agency's blessing.(direct-to-consumer advertising)(Merck and Company Inc.)
March 6, 2006... Byline: RICH THOMASELLI Pharmaceutical marketer Merck is developing a research protocol in which direct-to-consumer broadcast spots presubmitted to the Food and Drug Administration for review will include tests evaluating whether consumers...

Want a free ipod? just click here; White gold: Giving away MP3 players-in return for consumers' details-pays off for Netflix, Citibank, AOL.(FreeiPods)
March 6, 2006... Byline: BETH SNYDER BULIK What has become "get a free iPod'' started as "get a free condom.'' At lunch one day in the college cafeteria, then University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill senior Rob Jewell overheard some people talking...

A little too much information.(FreeiPods.com)
March 6, 2006... Byline: beth snyder bulik I decided-well, my editor decided-that I should try to get my own iPod. I chose FreeiPods.com since it is the oldest. The first screen was simple: Sign in with an e-mail and password. The next screen asked for my...

Jackson's task: Push GM back into overdrive; Automaker's top ad exec plans a strong focus on product to fuel turaround.(General Motors Corp.'s Mike Jackson)
March 6, 2006... Byline: JAMIE LAREAU General motors Corp.'s new VP-marketing and advertising admits he has little idea what's under the hood of the average car or truck. But that's OK, Mike Jackson said. He said he's confident anyway that he's the...

Media chiefs to ad folk: We've split, get over it; Rebundling talks shot down at well-attended, upbeat 4A's conference.(American Association of Advertising Agencies' conference)
March 6, 2006... Byline: MATTHEW CREAMER [orlando, fla.] The strong message from media agencies to their creative siblings that want to fold them back inside the ad shops: Back off. Top media-agency executives who assembled in droves last week for the...

OK, we'll try the shrimp; now play that song again.(Applebee's International Inc.'s offerings and advertising analysis)
March 6, 2006... Byline: bob garfield We eat sushi, okay? Not only that, we can identify several a la carte choices by name: saba, ikura, toro, matsui, nomo, etc. We also frequent foreign films, can distinguish between a pinot noir and a cab and own...

A feeding frenzy to come; In case you missed it.(RSS Web publishers)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... RSS, the means by which Web publishers can easily distribute their content to users who opt in to receive it, still has a fairly low intentional-user adoption rate. An October 2005 Yahoo study finds only 4% of the online-user population has...

Notes from the bar at the 4A's.
March 6, 2006... Byline: matthew creamer Yahoo goes off-campus, and Al Gore goes off on global warming Best fly-on-the-wall scenario: An off-campus dinner rendezvous among Yahoo and a rare gathering of media bigs on the eve of the search giant's...

Going after Howard's end.(Howard Stern )(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... Leslie vs. Mel. Joel vs. Howard. CBS vs. Sirius. Anyway you bill it, the massive lawsuit CBS dropped on Howard Stern last week is the catfight of the century. The suit, which also names Stern's agent, Don Buchwald, and Sirius Satellite...

Beyond the boarding pass; Airlines must design a better brand experience.
March 6, 2006... Byline: Brett Traylor Airlines are complex operations. Lifting hundreds of tons of metal into the air is a feat unto itself. But doing so while providing a satisfying customer experience is an accomplishment that continues to elude most...

It's summer year-round in the homes of orchid lover.(Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide Inc.'s Jason Becton's interest in orchids)
March 6, 2006... Jason Becton's fascination with orchids bloomed on his first day at work at Ogilvy & Mather back in 1998. On his new boss' desk he saw a beautiful flower. "I'd never thought of them before,'' he said. But its simple beauty caught his eye and he...

CBS's whining helps Howard.(financial case)
March 6, 2006... CBS Radio makes the case that Howard Stern had an undisclosed-and more than $200 million-financial incentive to use his old radio show to sell Sirius subscriptions before his satellite-radio contract started Jan. 1. So CBS is suing Mr. Stern...

Benatti-Sorrell feud hits an impasse over FullSix; Marco wants control; Martin won't relinquish media-company shares.(Marco Benatti and Martin Sorrell WPP Group PLC tries to acquire FullSix)
March 6, 2006... Byline: ERIC J. LYMAN [rome] Like divorcing spouses, each stubbornly refusing to surrender the house, Marco Benatti and Martin Sorrell are being forced into uncomfortable cohabitation. Mr. Benatti and his former employer, Mr. Sorrell's...

GM and Ford spend more, sell less.(American Honda Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co.'s advertising expenditures and sales)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... Byline: Jean Halliday General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. last year increased spending on media advertising but sold fewer vehicles. Collectively, the automotive industry spent $10.7 billion in U.S. measured media last year-$200...

ESPN launches Classic in U.K. Net aims to lure viewers with focus on landmark rugby, soccer matches.(launch of ESPN Classic)
March 6, 2006... Byline: RICH THOMASELLI when espn classic launches in the U.K. on March 13, don't go looking for Game Seven of the Yankees/Dodgers World Series. That's because the company's first network there, airing on Britain's BSkyB platform, will...

Naked suits up with U.S. marketers; U.K.-born agency scores Coke and Virgin during first month in New York.(Naked Communications signs contract with Coca-Cola Holdings (U.K.) Ltd. and Virgin Mobile Telecoms Ltd.)
March 6, 2006... Byline: MATTHEW CREAMER Naked communications, the U.K.-born media-strategy firm, is beginning to make its mark in the U.S., landing two high-profile assignments since opening last month. Coca-Cola Co. has tapped Naked to create a...

Why '01's `mild' recession wasn't: GDP doesn't include advertising.(advertising and advertising expenditures)(gross domestic product)(Column)
March 6, 2006... Byline: rance crain Maybe we've been underappreciating the power of advertising all these years. And because advertising is such an important driver of the economy, it follows that we might also be underestimating the strength of our...

Cadillac taps Modernista, slaps Burnett; Brand chief's link to Boston shop central to $160M shift.
March 6, 2006... Byline: JEAN HALLIDAY Blame the Super Bowl ad that put the brawny Escalade on a froufrou fashion-show runway. In a punishing one-two blow, General Motors yanked an estimated $160 million-plus in Cadillac business from Leo Burnett USA,...

TRANSCEND FUNCTION AND FOCUS ON THE VISUAL.(marketing trends and forecast)
March 6, 2006... Byline: avi dan Today, chief executives at many leading companies are frustrated by marketing's inability to produce measurable results. Increasingly, they view the marketing department as an expense rather than an investment, and as a...

Marketers likely to leave advertising to the pros.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... Byline: abbey klaassen Agency creatives need not fear for their jobs. A slim majority of Advertising Age online-poll respondents didn't believe advertisers would widely embrace consumer-created ads-but many pinned a caveat on our use...

Media Morph: Avatar.(internet advertising trends and forecast)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... Byline: Kris Oser What it is: An animated or photographic image, human or non-human, that Web surfers use to identify themselves with online, usually in chat rooms, but also sometimes included in viral e-mails. Who's using it: The...

Five questions with WPP's Robyn Putter.(WPP Group USA Inc.)(Interview)
March 6, 2006... Byline: Lisa Sanders Robyn Putter, a longtime player in South African advertising circles as well as within Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, is moving into a WPP Group role as worldwide creative chief-the post formerly held by the notorious Neil...

Your ad not here: Fox, CBS launch mobile content without advertisers; Slow video uptake and fear of public ire sticking points for cell marketing.(marketing on cellular telephones)(Fox Mobile Entertainment)
March 6, 2006... Byline: CLAIRE ATKINSON "The day they put an ad on my cellphone I'm going to hand it back,'' said Shelly Palmer, author of "Television Disrupted-The Transition From Network to Networked TV.'' Mr. Palmer, who is the chairman of the Advanced...

Hockey fans return to stadiums, but not to TV; Gambling scandal could interfere with new CMO's goal to grow viewership.(National Hockey League's new chief marketing officer Michael LaBroad's marketing plans to increase viewership of games)(National Hockey League All-Star Game)
March 6, 2006... Byline: RICH THOMASELLI The national hockey League's on all-time attendance high, a sign that hard-core fans have returned after 2004-05 season labor lockout. But the casual fan is not back: TV ratings have fallen 21% on national partner...

Lloyd finally lets go of `Lucy'; Yahoo's Braun concedes the Web is not TV, backs user-generated strategy.
March 6, 2006... Byline: KRIS OSER The consumer, 1. Lucy, 0. The grandiose belief that big-event original content would forever transform the Internet and rocket it to a new level-defined by Yahoo media and entertainment chief Lloyd Braun as "the `I...

Nielsen rejects Arbitron partnership.(advertising expenditures statistics)(Omnicom Group Inc. appoints Bruce Nelson)(Nielsen Media Research Inc. rejects partnership with Abitron's Portable People Meter)
March 6, 2006... Nielsen media Research has rejected a TV-measurement partnership with Abitron's Portable People Meter, the passive media-measurement device the latter company is rolling out to radio audiences electronically. The PPM is a pager-like device,...

Hispanic TV stays hot heading into upfront; More programming attracts more eyeballs and bigger ad budgets.(Spanish-language TV)
March 6, 2006... Byline: LAUREL WENTZ Growth in Spanish-language TV spending has taken off again after a slow start last year, soaring 20.3% for the month of September 2005 and growing even faster for the rest of the year, according to TNS Media...

Contributing... Paul Bennett, IDEO.(beliefs)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... Paul Bennett is creative director at world-renowned design firm Ideo. Mr. Bennett, now based in London, joined Ideo in San Francisco in 2002 after running his own brand design consultancy in New York for seven years. He is a frequent public...

Call for Entries.(Multicultural)
March 6, 2006... Advertising Age will be accepting entries soon for the eighth annual Hispanic Creative Advertising Awards. Ad Age conducts the awards with the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies. Entrants do not have to be AHAA members. TV,...

DESIGN FIVE; how five marketers are injecting design into brands.(marketing strategies)
March 6, 2006... Byline: Dale Buss Design is the new black in marketing. Whether it's a sleek form or an easy-to-use function of a product, a package or a store, more CMOs are hitching their brands to standout design. And the most committed of them are...

Spotlight.(MTV Networks Inc. contracts La Comunidad)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... Byline: laurel wentz Marketer: MTV Agency: La Comunidad, Miami La Comunidad show what would happen if the "M'' were taken out of MTV [Miami] Take away the "M'' in MTV and all that would be left is regular TV. After years of doing...

Can you get lucky reading Media Guy? Yes! (Maybe.).
March 6, 2006... Byline: Siman Dumenco If there's a Media Guy Manifesto, it goes something like this: We're not all just mindless consumers of the media that's shoved down our throats; we still get to make individual choices, even if technology makes it...

People.(Starmark International promotes Ernie Cox)(GSD and M promotes Ray Longoria)(Draft Chicago promotes Jonathan Sackett)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... Eric Magnuson to senior VP, The Active Network's Active Marketing Group, San Diego, from senior VP-managing director, Omnicom Group's Millsport. Ray Longoria, 39, to creative director, GSD&M, Austin, Texas, from associate creative...

From the Editor.
March 6, 2006... Apple. Mini. Motorola. Sony. Target. They're the brands most referenced in any conversation on good design, the companies that have carved their niche in the marketing world as design-savvy icons. But what of the rest of marketers, the...

DESIGN BY balancing business and consumer needs.(graphic design trends and forecast)
March 6, 2006... Byline: peter arnell Paul Rand, graphic artist and art director, was about 80 years old when I photographed him for a book on people and creativity. I went to his studio in Weston, Conn., near Yale, where he taught graphic design for 30...

People.(Leo Burnett Worldwide Inc. promotes Pat Groggin)(American Express Publishing promotes Tom Storms)(Euro RSCG Worldwide promotes Chris Pinnington )(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... Chris Pinnington to the new position of chief operating officer, Havas-owned Euro RSCG Worldwide, from chief executive of the agency in the U.K. Mr. Pinnington, who has worked for Havas since 1983, will remain in London but work closely with...

Work; tim hortons: `True stories'.(Enterprise Advertising creates advertisements for Tim Hortons )(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... The latest spot in this 12-year-old "True Stories'' campaign ties three generations with a Canadian tradition: enjoying coffee from Canada's leading fast-food chain Tim Hortons at the local rink, while watching kids play hockey. It also conveys...

As U.S. tourism tanks, gov't drafts Reinhard.(United States government's tourism promotion contract with M&C Saatchi New York and Daniel J. Edelman Public Relations Worldwide Inc.)
March 6, 2006... Byline: IRA TEINOWITZ Recognizing the harsh reality that foreign visitors who contribute $82 billion to the U.S. economy are increasingly staying home or going elsewhere, the country's tourism industry is bringing in two of advertising's...

TV hits tipping point as networks dive in `05; TNS numbers bad news for sellers before upfront.(television advertising expenditures, television broadcasting industry revenues)(TNS Media Intelligence)
March 6, 2006... Byline: CLAIRE ATKINSON Here's a sobering thought for sellers sharpening their sales pitches for the TV upfront: Measured spending on network TV fell last year for the first time since 2001. Freshly released figures from TNS Media...

`LOSER' WINS; Weight-loss show turns brand behemoth.(National Broadcasting Company Inc.'s 'The Biggest Loser' attracts advertisers)
March 6, 2006... Byline: NAT IVES Once pegged a TV lightweight, "The Biggest Loser'' now weighs in as a $120 million business-a multimedia giant that is piling on hundreds of thousands of dollars every week. The show, which started as a critics'...

Labatt replaces Pale Ale campaign.(Labatt Brewing Company Ltd. contracts Colour for creating an advertisement)
March 6, 2006... [toronto] Following the recent arrest of the star of its beer commercials on child-pornography charges, Labatt Breweries of Canada is bringing back an earlier campaign, a vintage-style spot set in 1820 when the brand, Alexander Keith's India...

HEED THE10 essential design truths.(marketing through designs)
March 6, 2006... Byline: brian collins Like sudden lightning, design electrifies some brands and electrocutes others. It instantly transforms how customers engage with you and redefines the value they place on your brands. Here are 10 lighting rods to...

Late News.(Chrysler Group to contract a publisher)(internet advertising revenues forecast)(adidas-Salomon AG to contract an advertising agency)
March 6, 2006... Circuit City parts with Doner on $150M account [chicago] Circuit City has parted with independent Doner, Southfield, Mich., the agency for its $150 million account, and is joining the ranks of marketers parceling out work on a project...

Asics' site for sore ears uses karaoke.(Strawberry-Frog creates advertisements for Asics Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... Byline: LAUREL WENTZ Almost every agency looks for a breakout idea to create a viral buzz for its client. Strawberry Frog, CEO-chief creative officer Scott Goodman found one in a karaoke ode to Japanese athletic shoe marketer Asics. ...

NYC slams Mad Ave. for woeful lack of diversity; exclusive: City Council to subpoena top ad execs.(lawsuit over advertising agencies' minority-hiring practices)(New York City)
March 6, 2006... Byline: LISA SANDERS Madison avenue's blindingly white management ranks are about to be exposed in public hearings on ad agencies' minority-hiring practices that could drag industry stars such as Andrew Robertson, Kevin Roberts and Shelly...

Now Inside.(News)(infusing marketing with design)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... Good design is critical to successful marketing, but how can CMOs use and own it? In this month's Point, that question is tackled by some of the brightest minds in marketing and design: Ideo Creative Director Paul Bennett, Ogilvy design and...

Quiksilver skateboarder holds street-cred line as he steers expansion.(Natas Kaupas appointed)
March 6, 2006... Byline: BROOKE CAPPS True, it does take a certain laid-back attitude of body and mind to plant your feet on a board and carve your path down water, snow or street. But master board athlete Natas Kaupas also knows the business end of his...

Adages: Mag musical heading for Great White Way?(Adages)(TV Advertising Basketball League)
March 6, 2006... Byline: ken wheaton In the future, when the whole world is wired and print media exist only in museums, how will the magazine industry be remembered? If John Byrne has anything to do with it, the industry will be remembered musically....

Man on the (British) street.(Entertainment and Sports Programming Network's services)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... Let's just say ESPN started screening American sports, how would the Brits like that? Ad Age's Alexandra Jardine takes a straw poll of sports fans in London... * "I would definitely watch a new sports channel. There can never be enough...

On the Web.(WPP Group PLC's Marco Benatti discusses his management)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... Marco Benatti recently sat down with Advertising Age to discuss his ongoing saga with WPP. "It took all the strength I had not to fall apart," he said , quoting Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive." Benatti had studied the song's lyrics to improve...

AdWatch.(advertising expenditures)
March 6, 2006... Byline: bradley johnson TURNSIGNALS U.S. measured ad spending rose a tepid 3% but hit a record $143 billion in 2005. Growth was far below the Feb. '05 TNS forecast of 5.1% but close to its 3.4% revised forecast last June. Ad spending...

Ad Age/IAG's Top Spots; No. 1 FedEx.(advertisements rankings)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... Seven of the 10 spots ranking as the best-liked during the past month made their debut during Super Bowl XL. Other ads generating high appeal among viewers include new spots from CareerBuilder.com, GM, and Snapple. To see the Top spot, go to...

Correction.(Viewpoint)(Correction Notice)
March 6, 2006... Advertising revenue for the New York Times Co. was misstated in the story "About.com carries its weight for NY Times Co." (AA, Feb. 27, P. 52). The full-year advertising revenue for the New York Times Co. increased 3.8%.

People & Players.(Travel and Leisure magazine hosts Design Awards)(The New Yorker hosts a conference and discussion)(2006 Obie Award)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... New york: Queens of confidence Actress Queen Latifah assists in recognizing extraordinary women at Curvation's Project Confidence Awards. (From l.) Curt Holtz, president, VF Intimates; Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.); Pam Hardee,...

Heat Index; WEEKLY RATING (0-10) OF SIZZLE & FIZZLE.(Google Inc.'s share price)(CBS Broadcasting Inc. sues Howard Stern Productions)(National Broadcasting Company Inc.'s audience ratings)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... 10 LAWYERS CBS sues Howard Stern (see Watercooler, above), while Jessica Alba sues Playboy for putting her on the cover against her wishes, a week after former Men's Journal Editor in Chief Michael Caruso sues Wenner Media. It's good to be a...

Images of the Week.(Travel and Tourism Administration contracts M&C Saatchi New York)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM: M&C Saatchi, Los Angeles A very cool outdoor and TV campaign to lure Brits to the U.S. and the Seeamerica.org.uk Web site (see story, P.3). Creative director/art director/copywriter: Alan Jarvie.

Exclusively online; The Essence of Meaning.(Doremus Holdings Inc.'s Emma Gilding's opinions)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... Emma Gilding, director of cultural research at global communications firm Doremus, examines how cultural anthropology-which identifies the symbols and codes that groups use to communicate value and meaning-influences design, particularly in...

Pointers; Thought, talk & speculation.(marketing and product design trends and forecast)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... "Consumers think they know what they want, but they often have trouble articulating it. But when we watch them, we can ask, 'Why do you do that?' We can change the product and solve their problems." -Henrik Otto, senior VP-global design,...

Love in a cereal bowl; How exploiting Cheerios' fundamental truth helps push those yellow boxes of toasted oats.
March 6, 2006... The New York Times Magazine - Talk about brand loyalty: People love Cheerios. There's just something about the product that resonates with consumers, and has for more than 60 years. So what's that something? David Altschul, president of...

Datapoints; Your Ever-Expanding Market.(population growth indicators)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... Want to know how rapidly the population is growing? Just follow this simple equation: +1 birth every 8 seconds -1 death every 12 seconds +1 international migrant every 31 sec. =Total U.S. resident population

Amazon Top 10 Marketing Books; As of Feb. 27, 2006.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... 1 The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference By Malcolm Gladwell 2 Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant By W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne 3 How to Buy, Sell, and...

Required reading; The books influencing how marketing leaders think about their business.(books on marketing)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... Cammie Dunaway CMO, Yahoo "The Wisdom of Crowds," by James Surowiecki. "Critical for marketers trying to understand human behavior and anticipate trends." "On Target," by Laura Rowley. "Because all marketers should be students of...

snapshot.(plastic surgeries statistics)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... Byline: Sources: The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery; The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery; The American Society of Plastic Surgeons; Harris Interactive Poll 16% Estimated share of American adults who have a tattoo...

Philips: sharpening its competitive edge.(Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.'s Andrea Ragnetti focuses on product design and marketing)
March 6, 2006... Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands has an 80-year history of attention to product design. But new CMO Andrea Ragnetti and Stefano Marzano, head of Philips Design, Philips' autonomous creative division, have gotten together to help...

CVS: Forging a New Path.(marketing strategies)(plans for an innovative store design )
March 6, 2006... Some drugstore chains are pursuing market share by going on construction binges. Others are adding more groceries, a la Wal-Mart. But CVS is betting its mortar and pestle on an innovative store design that promises to change the shopping...

Infiniti: Owning an Identity.(Nissan Motor Corporation U.S.A.'s Infiniti Div.'s marketing strategies)
March 6, 2006... The way Scott Fessenden sees it, there was an empty parking space marked "design," and Infiniti simply drove in. About 18 months ago, says the marketing chief of Nissan's luxury division, Infiniti seized upon design as its primary brand...

Oreck: Mixing Tradition With Innovation.(Oreck Corp.'s David Oreck)(marketing)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... David Oreck has been differentiating his vacuum cleaners from the competition for 42 years. For a long time, his biggest selling point was the fact that they were sturdy and lightweight enough to be the favorite brand of hotel chains. But...

Naked Juice: Exposing Itself.(marketing strategies)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2006... One of the fun things that Kimber Ward gets to do as marketing chief of Naked Juice is to urge people to "get Naked" without getting prurient. Another has been to execute a rebranding of Naked that is based almost entirely on package and...

What role do you see design playing in the future of the airline business?(aircraft design)
March 6, 2006... Chris Rossi, VP-sales and marketing for North America, Virgin Atlantic airways Design is vital [because] it gives airlines, and all companies, the opportunity to create points of differentiation, whether it's the hard-core...

Spotlight.(Briefs)(East Japan Railway Co.'s high-speed bullet trains to ski resorts)(Brief article)
March 13, 2006... Byline: Laurel Wentz Marketer: East Japan Railway Co. Agency: Tugboat, Tokyo Japan's skiing ostriches are back on the air after "Japan Snow Project'' campaign is derailed by train wreck [tokyo] Japan's three skiing ostriches are...

People.(Erich Stamminger of Adidas named Advertiser of the Year)(RSCG U.K. promotes Kate Robertson)(Wunderman U.K. promotes Steve Harrison)(Brief article)
March 13, 2006... Erich Stamminger, president-CEO of Adidas, will be named Advertiser of the Year at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival in June. Kate Robertson to chairman of Euro RSCG U.K., London, from exec VP. Steve Harrison to...

Country Crock? You'd better believe it's butter; Unilever's latest entry is the real deal, but Shedd's buyers might not bite.(News)(Unilever Ice Cream and Frozen Food)
March 13, 2006... Byline: STEPHANIE THOMPSON The anti-butter brand is entering enemy territory. With the launch this spring of Shedd's Country Crock Spreadable Butter with Canola Oil, Unilever is forsaking its leading margarine's heritage in the...

Privacy issues loom for marketers; Creating relationships with kids under age 13 presents sticky situations.(Special Report: Kids & Tweens)
March 13, 2006... Byline: LARRY DOBROW Obesity concerns and predatory behavior in teen-populated online communities like MySpace.com have been dominating the rhetoric around marketing to children and their use of fledgling technologies. Looming in the...

5 flashpoints for children's privacy issues.(Special Report: Kids & Tweens)(Brief article)
March 13, 2006... * Marketers will continue to struggle with delineation between advertising and editorial on the Internet. * Fewer marketers will duck COPPA's parental-consent requirement by closing their sites to children under 13. * The upcoming...

Telecoms must stay net neutral.(Viewpoint)
March 13, 2006... AT&T's pitch: "Your world. Delivered.'' CEO Ed Whitacre's view of the Internet: "Our world. Deal with it.'' His deal to buy BellSouth Corp. makes it all the more pressing for Congress to pass legislation to ensure that consumers keep...

Ad industry mst ramp up its diversity efforts.(News)
March 13, 2006... Byline: lisa sanders "I've worked at some of New York's largest agencies, and as an African-American, I am very aware that I am a rarity. It's apparent not just at the workplace, but industry events and happy hour,'' said Chris Williams,...

Are brands becoming the export `ideology' of the 21st century? Job outsourcing is hot topic, but U.S. should really worry about emerging foreign names.(Viewpoint)
March 13, 2006... Byline: JONATHAN HOLBURT `'A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.'' -Old Testament The wisdom of the Old Testament applies even today-but with a twist. A good brand name will be the source of great riches precisely...

Get invited to the party...(Media Works)(Brief article)
March 13, 2006... Philips Electronics and its agency, Omnicom's DDB, New York, came up with a great idea. Why not do something that an audience will really appreciate? The idea was to buy the four minutes of screen time that cinemas usually sell to advertisers...

Digital buyers step into upfront rumble; TV sellers' land grab pulls in new players.(Cable Advertising Bureau)
March 13, 2006... Byline: CLAIRE ATKINSON Contributing: Abbey Klaassen, kate macarthur If the headline fight in the upfront is between buyer and seller, this year there will be a new undercard that will pit TV buyers against their new-media counterparts....

Cold Stone ditches vanilla look, gets pretty for TV.(ice-cream retailer planning)
March 13, 2006... Byline: Marc GRASER How far will a company go to win a coveted product placement in film or top prime-time TV shows? Cold Stone Creameries completely revamped its plain-vanilla packaging to catch the eye of producers who continually passed...