Advertising Age articles from November 2006

Advertising Age archives from November 2006

People & Players.(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... New York: Idea Conference It was boot camp for your right brain. Advertising Age joined forces with sibling Creativity to put on this sold-out, daylong event. Participants were treated to ideas and inspiration from some of today's top...

Images of the Week; LOUISANA DEPTartment OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Trumpet, New Orleans.(Work)(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... Riffs on the old New Orleans saying "Laissez le Bon Temps Rouler!" (Let the good times roll!) keep to the spirit of the Big Easy while addressing a very real post-Katrina concern: attracting and keeping business in Louisana. Creative director:...

Media Guy's Pop Pick: Beyond 'Borat'; Our columnist's current media obsession.(MediaWorks)(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... Byline: s.d. The viral marketing campaign for "Borat'' has been so effective, so omnipresent, that you almost (almost!) didn't need to go see the movie this past weekend. Now we can all look forward to the DVD release, which is going to be...

For Axe star, it sure helps to think like guy; Q&A: Unilever's Zelen mixes young men's fancies, market research.(Alison Zelen)(Unilever Group)(Interview)(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... Byline: JACK NEFF jneff@crain.com Behind the axe man is a woman. It's Alison Zelen, 36, who confesses a guilty pleasure in scrapbooking even as she mines marketing insights from fantasies of teen and 20-something males. As...

Political ads shatter records on way to $2B.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: IRA TEINOWITZ iteinowitz@crain.com Political advertising spending has zoomed past projections and is headed toward $2 billion-plus this year, some 17.6% more than in the presidential-election year of 2004. And that number...

More mudslinging than ever?(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: ira teinowitz This congressional election will be known for more than record-breaking ad spending. It's also shaping up to be the biggest mudslinger in U.S. history, with negative ads accounting for 80% of the total in some races,...

Things are bad but still good.(MediaWorks)
November 6, 2006... Byline: Nat Ives After occasional lapses in recent years, Time Inc. Chairman-CEO Ann S. Moore is back to updating staffers every quarter-but employees could have used seatbelts while reading last week's internal memo, which whipsawed from...

SIEGEL COMES UP SMELLING LIKE ROSES; Spitzer's lead allows former BBDO creative to elevate political ads.(Jimmy Siegel)(Elliott Spitzer)(BBDO Worldwide Inc)
November 6, 2006... Byline: IRA TEINOWITZ iteinowitz@crain.com Jimmy Siegel is one of the few breakout stars in political advertising this year, credited with bringing the sheen of Madison Avenue to the mudslinging world of politics. But critically...

Programming Guide.(News)
November 6, 2006... Your Textbook for Search 101 If you didn't know that 80% of internet traffic begins at the search engine, you're already falling behind. Our Search Marketing Fact Pack is part of our effort to provide marketers with the best, most...

Batanga to buy publisher to strengthen hold on Latino social networking; LatCom titles, events would give web music specialist another way to reach youth.(Multicultural)(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... Byline: LAUREL WENTZ lwentz@crain.com Latino internet music network Batanga is moving further into social networking, and is expected to announce the acquisition this week of another Hispanic business, LatCom, which specializes in...

From GM, it's expected. But Goodby? Come on.(General Motors Corp.)(Goodby, Silverstein & Partners)
November 6, 2006... Byline: Bob Garfield A winding mountain road? A WINDING MOUNTAIN ROAD??!! To see the introduction of Saturn's Aura midsize sedan from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, is to wonder where Goodby and Silverstein were...

Global highlight: The Gunn Report.(The World)(ranking of top international and national advertising awards)(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... Byline: laurel wentz The U.S. was toppled from the top spot as the world's biggest creative-awards winner this year for the first time by the U.K., according to the eighth annual Gunn Report, a ranking that tabulates the winners at the top...

The Brand-Design Process.
November 6, 2006... The Brand-Design process has four steps: imagination, innovation, operationalization and renovation. Through these four steps, we interpret the soul of the brand, bringing it to life for customers to experience. 1. IMAGINATION By...

McDONALD's Snack wrap: Exposito & Partners, New York.(McDonald's Corp.)(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... When one of the best-known figures in the U.S. Hispanic market, Daisy Exposito-Ulla, left as CEO of Y&R's Bravo Group in November 2004, everyone wondered what she would do next in the agency world. The answer: buy a majority stake in September...

Multicultural Agency of the Year.(Multicultural)
November 6, 2006... Submissions are due Thursday, Nov. 16 for Advertising Age's contest, open to any agency whose business is primarily U.S. Hispanic, African-American or Asian-American advertising. Agencies should send 2006 creative work and a written...

Don't buy newspapers. Donate them to charity.(MediaWorks)
November 6, 2006... Byline: Simon Dumenco So Jack Welch wants to buy The Boston Globe (maybe). David Geffen wants to buy The L.A. Times (maybe). Philly uber-flack Brian Tierney already rounded up enough fellow investors earlier this year to buy the Inquirer...

The voting's over, and, yes, political ads are way too filthy.(Annenberg Political Fact Check)(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... Byline: meredith deliso A recent report by Annenberg Political Fact Check found negative political ads are on the rise, and 95% agree the tone has become too negative. "The negative campaigns serve to make the public feel neither...

what you missed in mediaworks.(America Online Inc. revenue goes down.)(Wired Digital Inc. acquired Reddit.com.)(Advertising revenue was up at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.)(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... AOL's ads make Dick Parsons' 3Q brighter Thanks to big gains in internet advertising at its new just-wanna-be-free AOL division and from its cable division, Time Warner reported strong third-quarter earnings last week. AOL's revenue of...

Why NBC will charge you dearly for Beijing Olympics; EXCLUSIVE: Net to air big events live in prime time, stream 1,000 hours online.(News)(National Broadcasting Company Inc)
November 6, 2006... Byline: CLAIRE ATKINSON catkinson@crain.com For the Beijing Olympics in 2008, you can travel 6,000 miles to see the games live, or you can just turn to NBC. NBC Universal-about to begin a new round of negotiations with advertisers for...

Web weaves new opportunities for comic-book artists and readers.(Art Spiegelman )(Anthony Lappe)
November 6, 2006... Byline: Teressa Iezzi While the online-content battle has largely pivoted on developments on the video front, the web has also transformed the rules of engagement and currency for other storytelling formats. Consider the comic. The...

Politics certainly ain't what it used to be.(Adages)
November 6, 2006... Byline: Ken Wheaton If you look around the rest of this issue of Advertising Age, you'll notice a bit of news about political advertising. It's a record-breaking year in both dollars spent and, supposedly, mud slung. And while our...

HITCH A RIDE WITH NASCAR FOR UNDER $5M; Tylenol, others get big exposure at the track for one-fourth the sponsor price.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: RICH THOMASELLI rthomaselli@crain.com For marketers that align themselves with Nascar, the best return on investment is not only on the hood of a race car but also on the midway and in the infield. There, a cool $2 million can...

Marketers, Mark Burnett jump into Zumba craze; Fitness videos rooted in Latin music create bridge to Hispanic consumers.(Multicultural)
November 6, 2006... Byline: LAUREL WENTZ lwentz@crain.com If alberto perlman has his way, attendees at next week's Association of National Advertisers multicultural conference will start the day by gyrating to the Latin rhythm of dance workout craze...

At IPA Awards, biggest winners keep it simple; Marks & Spencer, O2 don't let creative distract from product quality.(The World)
November 6, 2006... Byline: EMMA HALL ehall@crain.com [london] The compelling story of Marks & Spencer's turnaround was the clear Grand Prix winner at last week's IPA Effectiveness Awards. The U.K. retailer's share price has almost doubled since...

A view from a judge.(IPA awards)
November 6, 2006... Byline: Laurence Green The IPA awards are the Oscars of effectiveness, and awards night sees the release of the latest batch of winning papers into the public domain. To win an IPA gong, you must scale Evaluation Mountain and prove to...

Niche-targeted social networks find audiences; Users flock to specialized communities but don't abandon MySpace, others.(Digital)
November 6, 2006... Byline: ABBEY KLAASSEN aklaassen@crain.com Tanner Stransky, a 23-year-old editorial assistant living in Manhattan, has been a devotee of Facebook since college and has been on MySpace for the past few years as well. But recently he...

Negative ads a tradition in U.S.(Viewpoint)(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... It's that time of year again, when Americans look forward to the changing of the leaves, too-early Christmas sales and some of the nastiest advertising available on TV. And we'll witness one other thing: the election-year ritual of...

Out of Site at AdAge.com.(Viewpoint)
November 6, 2006... As seen on Freakonomics.com/blog Is it click fraud if the clicker means well? After writing about declining newspaper circulation on the Freakonomics blog, Stephen J. Dubner received a very interesting comment from a reader: "I always...

How to make it big on Whole Foods' shelves.(Peter Murane)(BrandJuice)(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... Here are some tips for large companies from Peter Murane, president of BrandJuice, a brand-strategy firm: * "Change the rules'' and employ a "bootstraps entrepreneurial mind-set'' by working at arm's length from the rest of the...

The adventures of Beauregard: or, my journeys in Second Life.(Beauregard Babcock)
November 6, 2006... Byline: Randall Rothenberg I'm wandering-well, my avatar, Beauregard Babcock, is wandering-around the Club Extreme and Casino, a bustling nightspot. Beauregard is slender, has almond-shaped dark eyes, brown hair, a bald spot, and sports a...

Privatization 'tsunami' sweeps old media; Cablevision, Tribune Co., many others consider a future apart from Wall St.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: CLAIRE ATKINSON catkinson@crain.com media companies may be in the communications business, but it appears they're increasingly tired of talking to the Street. With digital chaos rapidly upending old business models and...

Media Morph: Mochila.(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... Byline: nat ives What it is: Publishers, this could be your latest "long-tail'' venture. Mochila is a 7-month-old online store for text, photos, video and audio being sold by wire services; magazines big and small; newspapers; other news...

Commercial-ratings rancor derails rollout; DVR debate and cable's worries over data force Nielsen to rethink plans.(Nielsen Media Research)(digital video recording)
November 6, 2006... Byline: CLAIRE ATKINSON catkinson@crain.com With $40 billion in national TV ad dollars at stake, the only thing the broadcasters, cable networks, syndicators and media agencies can agree on is Nielsen Media Research's new commercial...

Pepsi dons disguise in attempt to seduce the Whole Foods devotees; Beverage giant launches upstart brands to blend in with retailer's regulars.(PepsiCo Inc.)
November 6, 2006... Byline: STEPHANIE THOMPSON sthompson@crain.com Whole foods this month brings to its shelves a new line from a small entrepreneurial company: PepsiCo. Of course, no one can accuse the $35 billion food and beverage behemoth of being...

Breville aspires to be next Dyson; Aussie appliance maker aims to storm U.S with high-end form, function.
November 6, 2006... Byline: ALICE Z. CUNEO acuneo@crain.com From new zealand to England, appliance marketer Breville is so synonymous with toasted sandwiches that natives use its name as a verb, as in "I'm going to Breville that.'' But despite being...

Why McD's hasn't cut the fat; Fast-food leader fears oil change will leave bad taste among its fry fans.(Mcdonald's corp.)
November 6, 2006... Byline: KATE MACARTHUR kmacarthur@crain.com When mcdonald's corp. announced it would move to a trans-fat-free oil, the impact was immediate as consumers flooded the fast feeder with complaints that its fries didn't taste as good. But...

Heat Index; Weekly Rating (0-10) of sizzle & fizzle.(Martha Stewart Magazines Publishing )(New York Post)(Daily News)(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... 10: Martha Stewart Magazines Publishing division turns in a 75% increase in ad revenue for the third quarter, with `Everyday Food' up 81% in pages. That's a good thing, regardless of whether the company stays public or goes private. 8:...

How to master the 'vert ramp'.(Digital)(Interview)(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... Byline: Steve Rubel Every other day, a new digital term is born. Lately, HDNet co-founder and Chairman Mark Cuban has been repurposing an old piece of skateboard vernacular, "vert ramp,'' to describe "long-tail'' content crossing into the...

Working mothers flex their scheduling muscle; After years of struggle, employers hone ways for valued workers to fit in.(Business of Life)
November 6, 2006... Byline: STEPHANIE THOMPSON sthompson@crain.com For many female media and marketing executives, the climb to the top of the corporate ladder is one littered with toys and teething rings and time spent helping with homework. When...

AdWatch.(TNS Media Intelligence)(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... Byline: Bradley Johnson TURNSIGNALS Measured ad spending rose 3.4% in August and 3.7% year to date, according to TNS Media Intelligence. Ad spending is growing slightly faster than the economy; real GDP growth averaged 3.3% in the...

Don't thank marketing for GM's 22% sales rise; Analysts say comparing auto numbers to those of 2005 slump skews results.(General Motors Corp.)
November 6, 2006... Byline: JEAN HALLIDAY jhalliday@crain.com You might be tempted to look at General Motors Corp.'s 22% October sales jump and declare it a victory. Don't. Experts cautioned that comparing last month to October 2005 is an unbalanced...

The wait is over: Sony chooses BBDO and 180; Marketer's $56 million Electronics account had been in flux for a year.(Sony Electronics Inc.)
November 6, 2006... Byline: MATTHEW CREAMER And BETH SNYDER BULIK mcreamer@crain.com, bbulik@crain.com Sony electronics is moving its U.S. ad business to a team composed of independent 180 and Omnicom Group's BBDO, according to executives familiar with...

Magazines as muses: Hotelier finds inspiration in titles such as 'Wired'; Joie de Vivre approach puts a unique twist on the standard amenities.(News)
November 6, 2006... Byline: ALICE Z. CUNEO acuneo@crain.com Some people read magazines on the subway. Some clip articles. Some people pile them in hopes of reading them another day. But Chip Conley uses them as inspiration to build boutique hotels. ...

P&G pumps up print spending, trims TV; Digital may be hot, but giant finds mags, papers and direct work harder.(Procter & Gamble Co.)
November 6, 2006... Byline: JACK NEFF jneff@crain.com As the world's biggest marketer hunts for the next media revolution, it's rediscovering the oldest medium of all. Procter & Gamble Chairman-CEO A.G. Lafley last week told analysts that P&G is...

Kellogg has megabrand ambitions for Special K; Extends diet credentials of $500M business into protein bars and waters.(Kellogg Co.)
November 6, 2006... Byline: STEPHANIE THOMPSON sthompson@crain.com In hot pursuit of the next megabrand, Special K is slapping its scarlet letter on everything from water to watches. In the five years since Kellogg Co. and its agency, Leo Burnett...

Bet you wouldn't skip breakfast so often if chocolate was involved.(News)(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... Byline: stephanie thompson Even health-conscious adults wouldn't mind a little chocolate indulgence in their cereal now that it's considered good for you. At least that's what Quaker Foods and Kellogg Co. hope. Based on stellar success...

DYNAMIC DOZEN; Twelve big ideas from Ad Age and Creativity's The Idea Conference.(Anne Saunders)(Chris Stephenson)(Paul Budnitz)(Paul Bennett)
November 6, 2006... Byline: ANDREW HAMPP ahampp@crain.com From leading architect David Rockwell to leading creative Alex Bogusky; from the man who built Second Life to the marketing chief of the very-real-world Starbucks; from a guy who plans and buys...

Not the only one.(News)(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... Byline: jack neff P&G's move to print has been mirrored by rivals that use marketing-mix models too, including Unilever, Clorox and Johnson & Johnson. And some of them have made far more dramatic shifts. Unilever last year cut TV in...

Zune takes 'social' tack to slay iPod giant; MS music player to focus on sharing, paint Apple device as gear for loners.(Microsoft Corp.)(Apple Computer Inc.)
November 6, 2006... Byline: BETH SNYDER BULIK And ALICE Z. CUNEO bbulik@crain.com, acuneo@crain.com Call it the iPod strategy killer. Microsoft is launching a marketing blitz for its upcoming Zune music player that, unlike the loner aura cultivated by...

Busy moms need blogs too; Rolemommy.com helps working mothers balance careers, home life.(Yvette Corporon)(Interview)(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... As if holding down one high-profile part-time job at CBS and being a mom wasn't enough, Beth Feldman spends off hours on RoleMommy.com, the website she co-founded with "Extra'' producer Yvette Corporon. The two have co-authored a book due out...

Corrections.(Correction notice)
November 6, 2006... A caption in People & Players (AA, Oct. 30) incorrectly identified businessman and former Illinois state senator William A. Marovitz as Ken Sunshine, president, Ken Sunshine Consultants.

BRAND DESIGN TAKES MORE THAN STYLE; GETTING IT RIGHT: As brand management and design management merge, too many companies are getting stuck on the superficial.(CMO Strategy)
November 6, 2006... Byline: LARRY LIGHT Marketing changed forever on May 13, 1931, when Neil McElroy wrote the classic memo at Procter & Gamble leading to the creation of the discipline of brand management. Through brand management, the features and benefits...

DESIGN SUCCESS BY FAILING SMART; What do Palm Computing and the Wright brothers have in common? They can teach you to avoid catastrophe-and how to recover when you fall.(CMO Strategy)
November 6, 2006... Byline: SCOTT D. ANTHONY Today the press appropriately lauds Apple for the success of its iPod-branded digital-music players. Apple seems to have done everything right: A great product combined with a brilliant marketing strategy has...

Long day? A good night's rest wins out at agencies; Hard lesson: 'Creativity goes out the window with sleep deprivation'.
November 13, 2006... Byline: JEREMY MULLMAN jmullman@crain.com Is the all-nighter-that machismo-fueled badge of agency-executive honor long seen as synonymous with pitching for the largest accounts-being put to sleep? Newly formed DraftFCB just scored...

People & Planers.(Conde Nast celebrates its Readers' Choice Awards.)(Nissan Automobile Company Ltd. unveils a Pathfinder and Armada.)(Luquire George Andrews executives raise money for breast-cancer research.)(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... New York: Food fete Gourmet kicks off its fourth annual Gourmet Institute with a opening-night gala. (From l.) Editor in Chief Ruth Reichl, VP-Publisher Giulio Capua and chef Tom Colicchio. new york: The people have spoken Conde...

Turnsignals.(J.C. Penney Corporation Inc. moves its advertising account to Saatchi & Saatchi.)(Circulation falling at Washington Post Co.)
November 13, 2006... Byline: Bradley Johnson Publicis scored first in September new business with J.C. Penney's move to Saatchi & Saatchi from Omnicom's DDB. Havas, with its Progressive win, ranks No. 2 year to date, according to Bear Stearns' Alexia Quadrani....

Marketing 50.(Special Report: Marketer of the Year)
November 13, 2006... From folksy Airborne to voyeuristic Zillow, this yearAEs set of sterling marketing ideas is jam-packed with creative solutions in this Ad Age franchise celebrating the brains behind the brands since 1992

Pick your sleep profile.(Business of Life)(Survey)(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... The National Sleep Foundation classifies sleepers into five groups: 27% Healthy, Lively Larks: Most consider themselves morning people 21% Sleep-Savvy Seniors: Almost always take naps 20% Dragging Duos: Early risers work 40+...

Sony Pictures: Jeff Blake/Valerie Van Galder.(Jeff Blake)(Valerie Van Galder)(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... Byline: t.l.stanley THROUGH A mix of traditional and emerging media-including partner-ships with YouTube, and MySpace-Sony's film- marketing duo has opened 12 movies in the top box- office spot this year. Along the way, Sony has racked up...

Zara: Amancio Ortega.(Special Report: Marketing 50)(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... Byline: mya frazier Zara founder Amancio Ortega, 70, has built a phenomenon by getting what's termed "fast fashion'' into store windows ahead of the curve. The division of Spanish retailer Inditex , the largest specialty-clothing company...

Claire's: Marla and Bonnie Schaefer.(Claire's Stores Inc.)(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... Byline: mya frazier Since taking the helm of Claire's Stores in November 2002 from the chain's longtime CEO, their father, Co-CEO sisters Marla and Bonnie Schaefer have led the 2,928-store chain into a new chapter of growth by revamping...

Trader Joe's: Dan Bane.(Special Report: Marketing 50)(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... Byline: mya frazier NOT MANY retailers can say they have fan clubs. For the fast-growing 260-location Trader Joe's, known for its bargain, gourmet private-label offerings, an avid following is evident on sites such as...

Hybrid strategy forces foes' hands; Camry joins Prius, Highlander, RX 400h; luxe star LS 600h next as others chase leader.(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... Byline: jean halliday Less than two years ago, top executives at Nissan Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. took potshots at Toyota Motor Sales USA's hybrid strategy. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said at the time hybrids "make a nice story,...

LOOK WHO'S GOT HIS OWN MERLOT: DA COACH; In effort to tap yuppie market, Mike Ditka releases signature wines.(Mike Ditka)
November 13, 2006... Byline: JEREMY MULLMAN jmullman@crain.com former chicago Bears Coach Mike Ditka is blitzing the wine cellar. The gruff-talking, 1985 Super Bowl-winning tough-guy icon is selling something new for his fans to stuff in their lunch pails:...

Why TV needs commercial ratings-now; Prospective currency may not be perfect, but present system devalues powerful medium.(Viewpoint)(Viewpoint essay)
November 13, 2006... Byline: DAVID F. POLTRACK I have been a participant in the discussion concerning the measurement of the TV audience since the mid-1970s. One constant in that discussion has been the call by advertisers for the replacement of the standard...

ADD SOME COLOR TO YOUR HAIR ... YEAH, THAT HAIR; Betty Beauty launches line of dyes for the pubic domain.(News)
November 13, 2006... Byline: JACK NEFF jneff@crain.com if you think a brown betty is an apple tart, you may not want to read further. That's not the meaning ascribed by Betty Beauty, a New York startup that is getting big PR play by marketing hair...

Lessons you can learn from the runners up; Five takeaways from Nike...(Special Report: Marketer of the Year)(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... Byline: rich thomaselli Look to extend linkups. Nike increased its relationship with National Basketball Association superstar LeBron James, arguably the league's most marketable player, using "The LeBrons'' multimedia effort created by...

Lessons you can learn from the runners up; ...and from Unilever.(Special Report: Marketer of the Year)(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... Byline: jack neff The marketer is no one-trick creative pony, with Axe supplemented by ads for quirky little brands like Marmite and Pot Noodle. Unilever won 37 Lions at Cannes, top client honors from the Clios and One Show and a Grand...

365 days of Rachael? How awesome is that?(Adages)
November 13, 2006... Byline: Ken Wheaton Not since the filming of "The Wizard of Oz'' have so many camera operators towered over their subjects. When Adages popped in to the first-anniversary celebration for Every Day With Rachael Ray last week, we were...

Visa: Suzanne Lyons.(Visa International)(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... Byline: alice z. cuneo "Life takes risk,'' as the ad slogan goes, and Visa Exec VP-Chief Marketing Officer Suzanne Lyons, 49, took a couple when she parted with long-time agency BBDO, New York, and dropped its "Everywhere you want to be''...

DIVERSIFYING THE PORTFOLIOS; Ad schools use scholarships, other programs to up minority enrollment.(Miami Ad School)
November 13, 2006... Byline: ANDREW HAMPP ahampp@crain.com if it seems like common sense that the ad industry can only be as diverse as its pipeline, it's only sensible to ask how that pipeline-namely the portfolio schools-is doing with its own diversity...

Forget creatives: Pepsi has Chinese consumers; Online contest to develop TV ad harnesses power of country's digital lifestyle.(PepsiCo)(Li Ming)
November 13, 2006... Byline: NORMANDY MADDEN nmadden@crain.com [shanghai, china] PepsiCo's latest TV spot in China was the brainchild of Li Ming, a high-school teacher in the quiet province of Zhejiang on China's southeast coast. Mr. Li's unlikely...

Coming soon: Slutty celebs, spitballs and a free Betamax.(MediaWorks)
November 13, 2006... Byline: Simon Dumenco Recent media-world developments have your head spinning? Can't make heads or tails of media trends? Have no idea what to expect next? As it happens, many of Media Guy's industry sources are visionaries and savants....

On script like wet underpants.(Dan Rather)(Jon Stewart)(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... Byline: Ann Marie Kerwin A lot of media watchers were wondering how the newbie news anchors, Katie Couric, Charlie Gibson and Brian Williams, were going to do on their very first Election Night in the hot seat. Thanks to ABC's "Dancing...

Heat Index; WEEKLY RATING (0-10) OF SIZZLE & FIZZLE.(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... 10 Google's Old-Media Grab With Audio Ads and Print Ads programs gearing up, Google is positioning itself as old media's savior. Is Clear Channel in its sights? Stay tuned. 8 `Spy' Book Party Luckily, it happened to come the night after...

Media Guy's Pop Pick: TMZ.com; Our columnist's current media obsession.(thirty-mile zone)(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... What do the initials in TMZ.com stand for anyway? Too Much Zinformation? Tempo-mandibular Zyndrome? Taferine Meta-Zones? (Sorry.) All I know is that TMZ has been kicking butt lately. Not only was it the first entertainment-news organization to...

`Marley & Me': Seale Ballenger.(Seale Ballenger)(Harper Entertainment)(William Morrow Adult Trade )(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... Byline: patricia riedman Frisbees and stuffed dogs aren't mainstream marketing tools, but when Seale Ballenger, 42, set out to promote "Marley & Me: Life & Love With the World's Worst Dog'' by John Grogan, that's exactly what he used to...

McDonald's coffee: Carol Koepke.(Special Report: Marketing 50)(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... Byline: kate macarthur The growing army of Starbucks Nation began to create a problem for McDonald's: Consumers hooked on strong-premium roasts were skipping McJava . But franchisees feared alienating loyalists of its traditional brew....

The best way to view the world is through someone else's eyes.(Paul Bennett)
November 13, 2006... Byline: Scott Donaton Sit under the kitchen table. That was by far the best advice handed out at the Idea Conference-a highly successful (even by objective standards, not just my biased ones) joint venture Ad Age and Creativity held...

Democrats set sights on drug, kids' advertising.
November 13, 2006... Byline: IRA TEINOWITZ iteinowitz@crain.com Democratic control of Congress will change the way you do business. The new leadership will oppose media consolidation, increase scrutiny of the Federal Communications Commission and raise...

Fruit- Flowers: Ellen Davis and Susan Ellman.(Special Report: Marketing 50)(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... Byline: stephanie thompson It's been a fruitful road for the sister-in-law duo of Ellen Davis, 56, and Susan Ellman, 54, who came up with the idea for floral fruit and vegetable arrange- ments back in 1984. The two co-founders turned their...

Timbuk2: Macy Allatt.(Special Report: Marketing 50)(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... Byline: stephanie thompson Timbuk2 had sales to bike messengers in the bag, literally, but the company has in recent years expand-ed into an urban lifestyle brand that includes laptop cases, accessories and a build-your-own-bag bus-iness....

Crocs: Tia Mattson.(Special Report: Marketing 50)(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... Byline: stephanie thompson Tia mattson's push to put Crocs, the colorful resin shoes, on the feet of stylish celebrities and their children, as well as in the pages of magazines on topics ranging from kids to gardening, really paid off...

HOW TO WIN WEB 2.0; Want to survive? Find a way to monetize video.(Ross Levinsohn)
November 13, 2006... Byline: MATTHEW CREAMER mcreamer@crain.com [san francisco] If the term Web 2.0 means anything at all to major media companies, it's that having a potent way to get video content in front of consumers-and pull in a growing pile of ad...