Advertising Age - Latest News

Pizza Hut Names Martin as Its Lead Creative Shop

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:14:49 -0500

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Pizza Hut has tapped Interpublic Group of Cos.' Martin Agency as its new lead creative agency, replacing Omnicom Group's BBDO, the marketer said.

Chrysler Taps Fallon As Ad Agency

rparekh@adage.com(Rupal Parekh) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:13:51 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Chrysler has hired Publicis Groupe's Fallon to handle creative work for Chrysler brand, handled for years by Omnicom Group's BBDO.

Don't Create an IPhone App for the Online Buzz Factor

rchang@adage.com(Rita Chang) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:53:01 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- For all the love that marketers show iPhone apps, these micro-utilities and tools actually generate surprisingly little buzz in return, according to a study by Porter Novelli and its partner, Crimson Hexagon.

Five Shops Chase Tylenol's Creative Ad Account

rparekh@adage.com(Rupal Parekh) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:48:54 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- At least five agencies from two holding companies, Omnicom Group and Interpublic Group of Cos., are pitching creative duties for Johnson & Johnson's Tylenol and Motrin brands, executives familiar with the situation said. And the marketer confirmed it is also reviewing its media-planning business.

MediaVest Hires Former Unilever Media Exec for Kraft

mbush@adage.com(Michael Bush) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:15:49 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Jon Stimmel, former director of media investment and partnerships at package-goods giant Unilever, has recently jumped back into the agency world and landed at Publicis Groupe's MediaVest. Mr. Stimmel will serve as senior VP-group client director working solely on one of the agency's biggest clients, Kraft. As the investment lead for Kraft, Mr. Stimmel will manage overall channel strategy and oversee all video activations.

Business Lessons Courtesy Dunder Mifflin

jrash@cmithun.com(John Rash) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:55:11 -0500

MINNEAPOLIS (AdAge.com) -- Can a show about corporate incompetence offer a business lesson for the new Comcast-NBC? Sure -- if they heed the example of "The Office," one of the few bright spots on NBC's prime-time schedule.

Target to Go Pops Up as Holiday-Gift-Buying Timesaver

nzmuda@adage.com(Natalie Zmuda) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:52:34 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- In an effort to build buzz in select urban markets this holiday season, Target plans to unveil three pop-up stores modeled after a fast-food joint. Target to Go stores will be open in New York, Washington and San Francisco from Dec. 11-13 and will stock 50 popular gift items that shoppers will order by number.

Five Publishers Set to Start Building Digital Storefront for Print

nives@adage.com(Nat Ives) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:40:26 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Five of print's biggest competitors are about to place a collective wager on their best path forward in digital media, announcing as soon as Monday their joint venture to build a digital storefront, settle on common standards and systems for digital editions, and work together to finally wring real money from readers and advertisers' digital pursuits.

And the Buzziest Billion-Dollar Brand of the Week Is...

sdumenco@adage.com(Simon Dumenco) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:21:08 -0500

The buzziest billion-dollar brand of the week is also the most embattled brand of the week. You saw this coming: It's Tiger Woods.

Bob Lutz Out as General Motors CMO

jhalliday@adage.com(Jean Halliday) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:38:23 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Bob Lutz is out as CMO at General Motors Co., three days after the departure of CEO Fritz Henderson, as the automaker's government-appointed chairman, Ed Whitacre, wastes little time shaking up management. Succeeding Mr. Lutz in the post is Susan Docherty, VP-sales for North America, who keeps that responsibility as well as oversight of service operations. Mr. Lutz remains vice chairman and will be an adviser to Mr. Whitacre on design and global product development.

Send E-mails Directly From Print Magazine Pages?

hlevins@adage.com(Hoag Levins) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:41:42 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Can you imagine a business card or a print magazine page that can actually send an e-mail or facilitate the transaction of an online sale? Those are concepts that Livescribe CEO Jim Marggraff is working on. The company's Pulse Smartpen -- which is a real pen containing a full-powered, internet-accessing computer -- is a tool that makes such actions conveniently possible. And the growing popularity of the under-$200 device among college students is creating a significant national audience for new sorts of print-based digital experiences.

In Major Coup, Carat Gets Gillette's North American Communications Planning

jneff@adage.com(Jack Neff) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:33:49 -0500

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- Procter & Gamble Co. has shifted North American communications planning duties for its Gillette men's grooming business to Aegis Group's Carat from Publicis Groupe's Starcom Mediavest Group in a major win for Carat and rare P&G loss for SMG.

After Taking U.S. Bailout, Chrysler Hires Italian Agency

jhalliday@adage.com(Jean Halliday) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:38:29 -0500

DETROIT (AdAge.com) -- Chrysler Group's Olivier Francois, the president-CEO of the Chrysler vehicle brand, has tapped Armando Testa, his ad agency for Italian Lancia, to refashion a Lancia commercial for the U.S. market. Hiring an Italian agency for the work may not sit well with American taxpayers, who bailed out an ailing Chrysler earlier this year with billions of dollars in loans. And all of the several hundreds of staffers of Chrysler Group's longtime ad agency, BBDO Detroit, will be out of work at the end of January when the contract expires.

'Christmas in Rockefeller Center' as Comcast Buys NBC

jrash@cmithun.com(John Rash) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:22:44 -0500

MINNEAPOLIS (AdAge.com) -- It was "Christmas in Rockefeller Center" in more ways than one. First was NBC's annual holiday special. Then came an even bigger present: NBC Universal was bought by Comcast, in a mega-media deal that values the entire enterprise at $43.5 billion.

Ad Industry Vets Try Again With Latest Agency Venture

adiaz@creativity-online.com(Ann-Christine Diaz) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:22:38 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Veteran creatives Geoff Edwards and Mauro Alencar and operations brain Jeremy Brown have opened the doors to Dojo, a San Francisco-based agency that is backed by Brazil's ABC Group.

Meet Goodby and Wieden's Favorite Mexican Agency

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:48:58 -0500

Located 550 miles from Mexico City, Saltillo is a quiet town surrounded by a semi-desert landscape. Except for a few billboards next to the main road, advertising is almost nonexistent and it's the last place you would imagine that some of the most famous advertising agencies in the world would turn to get their most-talked about work produced.

Online Ad Industry: Advertising Is 'Creepy'

mlearmonth@adage.com(Michael Learmonth) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:41:33 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- "Hey, This Banner Ad Can Tell Where You Live. Mind If I Come Over And Sell You Some Stuff?" That's one of the messages that will start popping up on computers across the country starting today. The point is to convince consumers -- and regulators -- that online advertising isn't creepy at all.

The Show That Won't Die (Even Though It Already Did)

ldobrow@adage.com(Larry Dobrow) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:05:44 -0500

Then as now, "Scrubs" wasn't like anything else on TV. "Scrubs" 2.0, however, is another story.

Comcast-NBCU Deal Finally Completed

ahampp@adage.com(Andrew Hampp) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:47:00 -0500

LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) -- Comcast Corp. has officially taken a 51% stake in NBC Universal, an acquisition that will create a mega-media company valued at a combined $43.5 billion, according to Ad Age estimates of the companies' 2008 revenue.

FX's Insanely Offensive Sitcom Gets in the Holiday Spirit

sdumenco@adage.com(Simon Dumenco) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:14:01 -0500

"A Very Sunny Christmas" is my pick for the Most Awesomely Offensive and Hilarious Christmas Special Ever. Maybe you want one of the two copies I'm giving away in my random drawing? See the details below.

Ad Market Recovery Won't Lift All Media

nives@adage.com(Nat Ives) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:00:54 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Most people in the media business are excited to put 2009 behind them, but a stabilizing or even recovering ad market won't help everyone equally, according to a new forecast by Fitch Ratings.

C Squared Debuts Cream: The Innovation Exchange

akerwin@adage.com(Ann Marie Kerwin) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:52:43 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- C Squared, the company behind The Festival of Media; M&M magazine and the Nation Branding series of events, has launched Cream The Innovation Exchange, a new resource for global advertisers, agencies and media vendors.

That Chocolate Really Is Divine

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:16:39 -0500

People are always claiming to find the face of Jesus on odd places -- on pieces of toast, in a cushion, on a meteorite. That gave the folks behind Kit Kat some divine inspiration. For a more in-depth look at this Idea of the week and for other examples of media, marketing and business innovations, visit Ad Age and Cream's inspiration site.

Sexy Pilgrim Trumps Tillman for Thanksgiving Week's Top Viral Video

aklaassen@adage.com(Abbey Klaassen) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Spoof and shock help two of the three newcomers onto the viral video chart this week while a third counts on playful stop-motion animation.

Method Pulls 'Shiny Suds' Ad After Sexism Complaints

jneff@adage.com(Jack Neff) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:21:41 -0500

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- Household cleaner marketer Method has pulled down a viral video roundly applauded by marketers at the Association of National Advertisers annual conference last month and by most viewers who've seen it because of heated complaints from some women who view it as sexist and even condoning rape.

Obama's Afghanistan Speech Watched by 40.8 Million

jrash@cmithun.com(John Rash) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:29:13 -0500

MINNEAPOLIS (AdAge.com) -- President Obama's troop surge announcement was met with a commensurate viewing surge, as 40.8 million Americans watched the president present his revised Afghan war strategy. Carried live on 10 networks, the speech reached 27% more people than his last prime-time appearance, when he addressed a joint session of Congress on Sept. 9.

Enfamil Maker Loses False-Advertising Suit Against PBM

rparekh@adage.com(Rupal Parekh) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:12:22 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- A federal court has ruled the maker of baby formula Enfamil, Mead Johnson Nutrition, must pay $13.5 million in damages to competitor PBM Products for misleading consumers with a comparative ad campaign. The award is one of the largest to date for a false-advertising case.

Kraft Updates Its Popular Mobile App

rchang@adage.com(Rita Chang) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:34:17 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- How do you improve on a successful and widely downloaded mobile app that users are willing to shell out a buck for? If you're Kraft Foods, you release a new version containing enhancements suggested by your users and take the long-view of applications as a customer-engagement tool.

Pizza Hut's Bob Kraut Leaves Company

eyork@adage.com(Emily Bryson York) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:35:41 -0500

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Pizza Hut VP-Marketing Communications Bob Kraut has left to pursue other opportunities, according to an executive familiar with the matter.

AT&T, Verizon Call Truce in Lawsuit Battle Over Ad Claims

rchang@adage.com(Rita Chang) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:27:42 -0500

SAN FRANCISCO (AdAge.com) -- AT&T is walking away from the legal dispute that has spawned a high-stakes, multimillion-dollar advertising war.