 | | | | Thursday • April 23, 2009 | READ ALL NEWS AT ADAGE.COM | | At the TV Week/Advertising Age Upfront Summit NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Advertiser budgets for next fall's TV season are coming in significantly off last year's totals, and could prompt some radical changes in how buyers and TV networks conduct the annual "upfront" sales process, when TV outlets typically sell 75% to 80% of their ad inventory for the season. One executive notes now is not the time for 'fear', now is the time for 'guts.'  FULL ARTICLE
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NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Can a new format save "Heroes"? NBC is expected to trim the number of episodes of its sci-fi drama it airs next season, according to people familiar with the situation, and also run those episodes closer together to avoid interruptions to the story line week by week. The network is considering running 18 to 20 episodes of the series in the 2008-2009 season, those people said, down from 25 this season. FULL ARTICLE | |
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows," Bob Dylan once sang. But you might need one to get TV viewers to stop ignoring ads. NBC and Home Depot have crafted an intriguing ad break that offers a weekend weather forecast as a means of piquing the interest of jaded TV viewers. FULL ARTICLE | | LARRY DOBROW For Earth Day, I figured there'd be a big ol' slagheap of Earth-Day-specific sites, most sponsored by "responsible" corporations like BP reluctantly playing along with the save-the-p***t thing. I expected the sites would tout the practical and ethical virtues of living green, pass along tips about composting and fluorescent bulbs, and draw multiple Styrofoam=bad analogies. I imagined that Al Gore would somehow be involved. Instead I stumbled onto something I totally dig. FULL ARTICLE | |
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Us Weekly has sold sponsorship of its new Facebook profile to State Farm in what appears to be a first for a media company on the social network, as well as a first for a company's fan page. FULL ARTICLE | | JOHN RASH MINNEAPOLIS (AdAge.com) -- Schedules but not viewers shifted Tuesday night, as audience anchors "American Idol" and "The Biggest Loser: Couples" led Fox (6.1/16 rating and share) and NBC (3.4/9) to the top two spots in the ad-centric 18-to-49 demographic, ahead of revamped schedules on CBS (2.4/6) and ABC (1.9/5), as well as the CW (1.0/2). FULL ARTICLE | | | Lambient Media In U.K., Selling Train Tickets Using Sheep as Billboards | CMD Global's Idea of the Week First it was cats, now it's sheep. Thetrainline.com recruited a flock of sheep and put them in sheep-size jackets carrying the message that the site can provide competitive rates to train passengers if they book ahead. The flock grazes alongside the Reading-to-Gatwick train route, so it is clearly visible to train travelers.
For a more in-depth look at this Idea of the Week and other case studies, visit Ad Age and CMDglobal's Inspiration site. FULL ARTICLE | | > > Read All News at AdAge.com | | | | |
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