advertising – News Stories About advertising - Page 25

Mar 11, 2008 1:52 AM CDT

Fewer Clicks Are Better Clicks: Google

Company says it's part of a plan to reduce accidental ad traffic

(Newser) - Google's share price took a big hit after quarterly results released last week showed the number of paid-for-clicks on advertising flattening out, but the company says the fall is actually good news, MarketWatch reports. Google bosses say the drop is all part of their plan to improve the quality of...

Only Obama
Can Rescue
US 'Brand'

OPINION

Mar 3, 2008 3:40 PM CST

Only Obama Can Rescue US 'Brand'

The Nike of the field draws praise from marketing experts

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton is the sturdy candidate resembling Microsoft, John McCain evokes Hummer, and Mike Huckabee’s the Applebee’s of the field, but only Barack Obama "has the secret sauce that Brand America needs to regain its appeal." media consultant Jeff Yang writes in Salon. Yang is part...

Obama Riffs on Clinton Scare Ad

Mar 1, 2008 7:28 AM CST

Obama Riffs on Clinton Scare Ad

Candidates trade Texas ads playing on experience ahead of vital vote

(Newser) - Barack Obama threw Hillary Clinton's "red phone" ad right back at her yesterday—with a twist, the Chicago Tribune reports. Clinton's ad showed sleeping children, with a voice intoning that it's 3am, and a phone is ringing the White House. “Who do you want answering the phone?” Barack's...

'Jackie Moon' Plugs Old Spice

Feb 27, 2008 12:10 PM CST

'Jackie Moon' Plugs Old Spice

Jocular tie-in to Will Ferrell character to revamp brand

(Newser) - In its latest move to shed its image as a '70s relic, Old Spice has hired a '70s relic as its spokesman: the Afro-ed, headband-sporting basketball player Jackie Moon. Old Spice hopes Moon, a Will Ferrell character starring in the upcoming Semi-Pro, will attract the coveted young male demographic with...

Hollywood's Variety Goes Up for Sale

Feb 22, 2008 12:39 PM CST

Hollywood's Variety Goes Up for Sale

Owners put trade paper on block to focus on alternative media

(Newser) - Hollywood trade paper Variety is on the auction block, the Los Angeles Times reports. Anglo-Dutch owner Reed Elsevier is selling a publishing operation that produces the 103-year-old Variety and hundreds of other titles, including Publisher's Weekly. The sale is part of Reed Elsevier's strategy to ditch advertising-dependent publications to focus...

NBC Ditching Fall Debuts

Feb 20, 2008 4:37 PM CST

NBC Ditching Fall Debuts

Peacock plans to stagger show introductions throughout the year

(Newser) - NBC appears to have followed through on pledges to use the writers' strike as a springboard to changing the television industry, ditching traditional fall debuts of new shows for staggered introductions throughout the year. The move is designed so the network can keep things fresh, and work more closely with...

Brazil Cracks Down on Booze

Feb 20, 2008 10:03 AM CST

Brazil Cracks Down on Booze

With alcohol abuse on the rise, president pushes for even more regulation

(Newser) - The president of Brazil is pushing for stricter alcohol regulations following the release of two studies showing more Brazilians are abusing alcohol and at an earlier age, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The government has already temporarily banned the sale of alcohol on federal highways, and President Luiz Inacio Lula...

Absolut Cans Bottle Ads, Sees Sales Soar

Feb 19, 2008 10:55 AM CST

Absolut Cans Bottle Ads, Sees Sales Soar

Iconic campaign dumped after high-end vodkas steal brand's thunder

(Newser) - Absolut is selling a lot more vodka now that it's dumped one of the world's best-known ad campaigns, Advertising Age reports. The Swedish brand and its arty ads featuring the iconic bottle had been a big hit since entering the US market in 1979, but sales were flat before the...

Lawyers' Ads Make for Legal Circus Indeed

Feb 7, 2008 1:46 PM CST

Lawyers' Ads Make for Legal Circus Indeed

Aliens, panthers, lions, pit bulls jostle in free-speech face-offs

(Newser) - A law firm running ads is often frowned upon by its legal peers, and such advertising is subject to strict standards in many states. But with New York cracking down on TV spots depicting lawyers as giants or offering counsel to aliens, firms are fighting back, the Wall Street Journal ...

A&F Obscenity Charges Dropped

Feb 5, 2008 12:20 PM CST

A&F Obscenity Charges Dropped

Va. Beach has second thoughts about widely disseminated image

(Newser) - The city of Virginia Beach will not pursue obscenity charges brought against an Abercrombie & Fitch store manager because of posters depicting scantily clad models. One offending poster—used all over the country—showed three shirtless men, one with his jeans pulled well below his waist. A city lawyer said...

Super Bowl Hits Ratings Record

Feb 4, 2008 7:40 PM CST

Super Bowl Hits Ratings Record

Match-up pulls a record 97.5 million viewers

(Newser) - Super Bowl advertisers scored big last night as the Giants-Patriots match-up pulled a record 97.5 million viewers, besting the 1996 high of 94.1 million. "You could argue this might have been a perfect game from an advertising perspective,'' said a marketing analyst—who noted that the...

The 11 Best Super Bowl Ads

Feb 3, 2008 2:56 PM CST

The 11 Best Super Bowl Ads

Game? What game?

(Newser) - There's probably supposed to be a game or something on tonight, but for legions of Americans, Super Bowl Sunday is all about the commercials. EW jumped in its way-back machine and dug up the 11 most memorable big-game distractions. They were:

Cindy Crawford drinks a Pepsi (1992)
The Ridley Scott-directed

...

Subway Sues Quiznos
Over Ad Contest

Jan 29, 2008 7:30 PM CST

Subway Sues Quiznos Over Ad Contest

Sandwich-maker offered $10K to fan that best mocked competitor

(Newser) - Subway is suing Quiznos after the sub-maker invited fans to drum up ads for an online contest, the New York Times reports. Two years ago, Quiznos offered $10,000 to the fan whose ad best compared Quiznos subs to Subway's "with Quiznos being superior." Subway fumed after seeing...

Rosy Realtor Ads Omit Pesky Housing Crash

Jan 28, 2008 7:58 PM CST

Rosy Realtor Ads Omit Pesky Housing Crash

NAR campaign claims slumping market is a can't-lose investment

(Newser) - Apparently, real estate is a can’t-fail investment right now. Or at least, that’s the questionable gospel the National Association of Realtors is preaching, in a blitz of new commercials claiming that home values, on average, double every 10 years, and that a home is “the key to...

Super Bowl Ads Mirror US Mood

OPINION

Jan 21, 2008 6:40 PM CST

Super Bowl Ads Mirror US Mood

Boom times inspire better ads, MSNBC reports

(Newser) - Super Bowl ads reveal the economic tenor of our times, MSNBC reports. Boom times spark creative commercials, like Apple's famed Ridley Scott-directed "1984" plug, which aired as economic confidence was rising. “Every year it really does mirror the biggest trends that year—what’s happening in the economy...

'Idol' Charges Record Ad Rates

Jan 14, 2008 3:25 PM CST

'Idol' Charges Record Ad Rates

Writers strike wipes out the competition

(Newser) - "American Idol"—TV's undisputed ratings champ with its biggest competitors sidelined by the writers strike—is setting records for ad prices. "It's the biggest thing in a landscape where there aren't as many big things as there used to be,'' an ad buyer tells Bloomberg. The...

Rudy's Camp Beseeches Donors

Jan 13, 2008 12:16 PM CST

Rudy's Camp Beseeches Donors

Campaign reportedly low on funds after Florida advertising spree

(Newser) - Rudy Giuliani's campaign is urgently requesting funds, the New York Daily News reports, seemingly contradicting the camp’s denials of financial hardship. While staffers are going without paychecks this month—voluntarily, they say—Giuliani’s campaign manager emailed a plea to prospective donors yesterday. “I am asking you to...

Homemade Ad Tops Best List

Jan 1, 2008 8:28 PM CST

Homemade Ad Tops Best List

Doritos plug was marketing home run

(Newser) - The best ad of 2007 cost 12 bucks to make. The winner of the Doritos Super Bowl commercial contest took best ad honors in USA Today's poll of ad pros and couch potatoes. And that wasn't even the most authentic or irreverent item on the list. The winners are:

Best

...

Cell Phone Ads Slowed by Privacy Worries

Jan 1, 2008 7:50 PM CST

Cell Phone Ads Slowed by Privacy Worries

Carriers love targeted marketing, but are afraid to tick you off

(Newser) - With the mobile Internet and GPS location-based services expanding, marketers and mobile phone companies are anxious to tap into a new level of targeted advertising. But, the AP reports, carriers are proceeding with caution in implementing the ads because they don’t want the perception of a privacy invasion to...

Laughing Tots Make TV Debut

Dec 31, 2007 5:34 PM CST

Laughing Tots Make TV Debut

YouTube's giggling babies now starring in latest crossover ad campaign

(Newser) - Babies with belly-laughs are the darlings of YouTube—one video has been seen by more than 35 million viewers—and now AIG is deploying them to sell financial instruments. Slate finds the AIG giggling-baby campaign instructive of what works and what doesn't in adapting YouTube videos to TV. For one...