• A combination of cheap kid's meals and Xbox games means increased same-store sales for Burger King compared to last year, which has executives in the company doing a more than a little embarrassing happy dance in the corporate hallways. While busting a move they're also prepping for the launch of their breakfast value meal, which they're hoping will lead to more happy dancing.
• Saatchi went a courtin' they did right....hambone. Saatchi went a courtin' they did right...hambone. Saatchi went a courtin' they did right, the Wendy's account is out of sight, Saatchi went a courtin' they did right...hambone.
  
• Pampered pups get park promotion. The story about high end canine fashion earns my eternal gratitude for including the phrases "doggy style" and "rich bitch."
  

• Microsoft is on the cusp of launching a $500 million campaign for the debut of its Vista operating system. That buys a lot of TV spots and banner ads but, ironically, only about a dozen copies of the software itself.
• With all the stories that have been printed lately about how Crispin Porter & Bogusky and how its work hasn't actually helped its clients, it's not that surprising to see a story like this that reminds us how wonderful and creative they are.
  
• Marketers are questioning just who the glamorous productions that are the upfront presentations are actually meant for. Networks could start to rein in how extravagant their shows are in the future under pressure that these are more shows than they are business meetings.

So many dumb moments in business, so little time. But Business 2.0 mag has their picks for the 101 dumbest of 2006.

Wal-Mart is #1, for hiring a big firm to create their "Candidate Wal-Mart" campaign. #2 is Northwest Airlines, for giving their employees a "How To Save Money" booklet after laying them off. #3 is the contest McDonald's held in Japan, with the winners getting free mp3 players with a virus on them. The rest of the top 10 are GM, Kazakhstan, Steve Wynn, The New York Times, Spirit Air, Porter County, and Comcast.

There are 101 in all, so grab a hot beverage and get comfortable. You can't see the entire list on one page, which is a little annoying, but there is a handy scroll function at the bottom.

• Miller Brewing Company has gotten tired of waiting for the "Man Laws" campaign to turn around sales and has decided to ditch the effort. It was originally created this past Spring by Crispin Porter & Bogusky but did not manage to turn around declining sales numbers.
• TBWA/Chiat/Day has decided not to keep going in the review process for Sprint's creative work. The agency will continue to handle some work for the cell phone company though. Incumbent agency Publicis & Hal Riney is still in it.
• A number of agencies are moving away from the "get paid by the hour" billing format and instead are working with their clients to structure compensation around creative work and other, more partnership oriented arrangements. The approach was first adopted by CP&B.
  

• Mediaedge:cia has been picked by Federated Department Stores as their new agency of record. The change came after the complete lack of review and will include national planning and buying for Macy's.
• The drastically reduced print spending by major auto companies is at least one factor - albeit likely a big one - in Time's decision to cut almost 300 staffers. The decreased ad revenue was just too big a hit for the publisher to take.
  
• It should be as no surprise to anyone who's seen the spots that Orville "Deadenbacher" is creeping consumers way the heck out. A reanimated dead guy who wears as iPod while he's microwaving popcorn...yeah...it's creepy.

• The commute into work for Time staffers had to be nerve-wracking to say the least. That's because today is the day that between 150 and 250 of those staffers are going to be told they've been let go as the company seeks to trim operating costs.
  
• Even though they named "The Consumer" as their Agency of the Year, AdAge takes some time to recognize some of the great work actual agencies did in 2006. That's very nice of them, I think.
  
• 2007 is going to be a rough year for marketers who target kids. That goes for food marketers especially but a number of other industries are going to wind up being scrutinized as well.

• Y&R Advertising will handle the campaign for LG Electronics' upcoming product debut push, which will be for a line of next-generation high-definition TVs. The ads, which will include TV, print and online executions will debut this spring.
• Don't tell anyone, but online ads have their own set of challenges and aren't the Holy Grail that some people think they are. And, as part of that, it's not simply enough to re-purpose TV spots for online usage. It's a different format and a different audience so think different.
• Zimmerman managed to win the Crocs account by taking a different approach to the work than other agencies in contention. Instead of trying to sell more shoes, something Zimmerman says the company does well enough already, they focused on selling the shoes' technology.
• La-Z-Boy has put its $35 million account up for review. Incumbent Doner has been invited to participate in the process, which will eventually award work for both the retail and gallery efforts from the company.

Yes, I'm one of those people, the ones who watch the Super Bowl for the commercials. I have no interest in football whatsoever.*

I'm a tennis and baseball fan (my brief affair with basketball stopped when the Celtics stopped being good, too long ago to remember), but I never miss the Super Bowl even though on most days I'd rather watch a Sex and the City marathon than watch football. I get involved in the pre-game hype of the commercials, what the ads cost, who is going to advertise when, how many ads a particular company has during the show, and even the post-game analysis the next day, usually in USA Today, where they have people watch the ads with meters and pick their favorites and least favorites (Budweiser wins many years, and I've never understood that). So I'm looking forward to the game in a few weeks, and we'll have full coverage of the ads here at Adjab.

*Of course, if the Patriots make it, this could all change.

• Seems that the problem with the mass adoption of mobile advertising on the part of companies is the fact that there's little to no interest from consumers. Only a small percentage of those people with video-enabled phones actually view video on their phones so, you know, that's a problem.
• Procter & Gamble has engaged a small Cincinnati firm to start doing some ad work for it. Everyone is apparently falling over themselves talking about how risky this makes P&G seem.
• Kimberly-Clark's "Room-a-day" promotion on ABC's "The View" will have to be wedged inbetween Rosie O'Donnell's ongoing war of words with Donald Trump, Elizabeth Hasslebeck's crying and Barbara Walters trying to remain dignified during all of this.

• If companies are shilling out the $2.6 million or so for a Super Bowl spot this year a good deal of them aren't fessing up to it. Only 13 companies - many of them the usual suspects who have bought spots for years - have publicly declared to buying time, a bit surprising (according to the article but not to me) since buying a spot means all sorts of public chatter.
• Part of the deal with with CBS could lead to Google's eventual entry into selling local television ad time. Since we all know Google will begin selling TV time sooner or later this is as likely as any speculation that I've read so far.
  
• The Zimmerman agency is reported to be on the cusp of unveiling Pick-n-click-ads.com, an online tool that allows even the Luddite-iest of Luddites to create online, TV, radio or print ad.
  

• Deutsch has landed the media planning duties for Johnson & Johnson's Tylenol brand. Deutsch currently handles creative duties for Tylenol and had previously done the planning work before briefly, you know, not.
• If it's Friday it must be time for a new round of speculation regarding the potential merger between Sirius and XM. While it might be good for shareholders, am I the only one who thinks that a merger of the only two players in a particular market might raise some anti-trust concerns? It's not like they're lowering the number of competitors - they're eliminating competition outright.
  
• The New York City Commission on Human Rights has published the minority hiring goals submitted by the agencies to try and make up for the inequality they've been accused of.
  

• CBS is negotiating with Google about a variety of things, including how the network might put their content on Google Video and how CBS radio stations might begin using Google Audio to sell ad inventory.
• Hearst Magazine president Cathleen P. Black says that while the company might have made some early mistakes in terms of web strategy there's still time to right the ship and make progress online.
  
• The Parents Television Council once again is warning advertisers to shun the increasingly violent programming on TV or, I don't know, the group will glare at them or something.

Continue reading AdAge Consumes 60 More Seconds of Your Life

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• WPP Group's MediaCom has been invited to participate in the review that Staples' just opened up for its $91 million ad account. No word on tactics yet but the phrase "That was easy" was heard repeatedly coming from the offices of MediaCom execs.
• Another agency buys its way into becoming a digital work powerhouse. Meredith has bought both Genex and New Media Strategies in an attempt to give them some serious digital cred and expand the offerings they can...ummm...offer to clients.
• I love how in this round-up of experts' opinions on how to fix The Ravine Gap author Seth Godin is the only one who just comes out and flatly says "It can't be done." Everyone else talks about what they'd leverage or whatever but Godin states plainly that the time of The Gap has passed.

• The NFL has selected the winner of its fan-made Super Bowl commercial contest. In true corporate style the winner is a marketing professional from Maine. The winner was selected first by fans and then by a bunch of judges but ultimately by the NFL itself.
  
• Mother, the incumbent agency for Virgin Mobile, will not be participating in the review the company just announced as they begin a search for a new creative ad agency.
• CBS CEO Les Moonves announced a deal with Sling Media that will allow users to upload segments of their favorite shows and share them online. A contract was immediately put on Moonves' life. (Just kidding about that last part.)

• Sprint is looking for a new creative ad agency after putting that portion of its work up for review. The company still has both its own agencies as well as the ones it inherited when it took over Nextel. All those firms have been informed that Sprint is looking for some fresh thinking.
  
• Shortly after dropping Crispen Porter & Bogusky, Method Products has chosen TBWA/Chiat/Day as its new agency. Method has been building a reputation as in innovative marketing thinker despite a budget that's not exactly the biggest.
• Rory Finlay, formerly VP-managing director at Wrigley, has now been named the new chief marketing officer at Beam Global Spirits & Wine. Part of his mandate will be to revive flagging spirits sales at the company.
  

• Miramonte Records bought two 30-second spots to promote a new single from one of their artists. What's interesting is that the stripper-like women in the spots were called the "Wal-Mart Girls." The company had nothing to do with the spot but the label wants to catch the attention of the retailer so that they'll start carrying their records.
  
• The Versus cable channel blanketed New York City in bull-themed ads to promote their coverage of professional bull riding. Cabs are covered with stuff, manhole covers look like bulls blowing smoke and more as the channel tries to gain wider viewer coverage.
• Starcom has created a tool that they hope will lead to a better understanding of the return-on-investment on all those online ads that don't result in clicks but still register impressions.