Breaking News

• Top 100 global marketers for 2007
  Procter & Gamble, Unilever and L'Oreal placed at the top in Ad Age's 22nd annual Global Marketers report based on 2007 ad spending data. General Motors Corp., which over the years had been a fixture in the top three, slipped to fourth place, and was the only one of the top 10 to reduce ad spending last year. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (12/8)

Company News

• GM admits mistakes in pro-bailout ad
  In a full-page ad slated to run today in trade publication Automotive News, General Motors says it "proliferated our brands and dealer network to the point where we lost adequate focus on our core U.S. market," and owned up to a bias for trucks and SUVs over cars. The ad is part of a lobbying blitz to drum up support for a proposed $34 billion federally-backed loan package for the Big Three domestic automakers. The Wall Street Journal (free content) (12/8)

• Common, CP+B team up to launch Microsoft's "softwear" line
  Can software giant Microsoft make a claim to hipster credibility with a line of T-shirts? The rapper Common and agency Crispin Porter & Bogusky is helping to launch the line of tees, dubbed "Softwear" which feature old-school MS-DOS typefaces and other touches that recall the early 1980's when Microsoft was still an upstart company. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (12/5)

• Lean times for JWT, Chicago
  JWT, Chicago, which in the past five years reportedly has gone from having 800 workers and more than $100 million in billings to a 50-person shop with four clients, is hoping to begin to reverse its fortunes by winning the $18 million Illinois Lottery account. Although the Windy City branch is being run by the New York Office, an agency spokeswoman strongly denied that there are any plans to shutter the Chicago office, according to this article. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (12/8)

Market Trends

• Best guerrilla campaigns of 2008
  Brandweek rounds up the top alternative out-of-home efforts of the year, including a "Guinness Book" record pumpkin-carving feat in New York's Times Square to promote Scholastic Media's Goosebumps HorrorLand game. Coffees of Hawaii crashed an Ironman competition by setting up a floating espresso bar advertised by an underwater billboard. Brandweek (12/5)

• Ad forecasts vary on impact of downturn
  It's forecasting season, and soon ZenithOptimeida, IPG's Magna and WPP's GroupM are releasing their forecasts for U.S. ad spending today. ZenithOptimedia is predicting a drop of 6.2% next year, while GroupM is expecting a 3% dip. IPG did not release its forecasts ahead of a planned event. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (12/8)

Interactive

• Automakers expected to shift online focus to wooing likely buyers
  The recession and economic woes of Detroit's Big Three are likely to force automakers to emphasize online marketing geared toward "in-market" buyers over more innovative branding ads intended to build buzz, according to this article. "Anything that is seen as experimental is likely to be put on the shelf," said eMarketer analyst David Hallerman. Mediaweek (12/8)

• In-game ads won't be winning segment in 2009, some execs say
  Although product placements are likely to become more commonplace in video games in 2009, the burgeoning in-game ads segment is unlikely to post significant growth, according to participants at the Reuters Media Summit. "In the next six to 12 months as we go through this economic period, [ads] probably won't have a big material impact on us or on the industry, frankly," said Shane Kim, VP of strategy and business development for Microsoft Corp's gaming business. Reuters (12/5)

• Are branded apps doomed?
  Marketers are having a difficult time luring Facebook users to their branded applications. But some experts criticize failed apps as being not particularly useful or socially minded, or linked closely to one-off campaigns. Adweek (12/8)

Multicultural Marketing

• Marketing to the poor of Latin America
  Research by McCann Worldgroup is helping marketers reach the poor of Central and South America with research on how families earning between $350 and $700 per month allocate their household budgets. Presentations for clients include depictions of local bodegas to show how consumers see products on the shelves. Nestlé Central America head Marcelo Melchior said, "A lot of people talk about the emerging consumer, the bottom of the pyramid, but no one really has a structured approach." The Wall Street Journal (free content) (12/8)

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by AAF SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• Lawsuit claims Black Friday ads factor in Wal-Mart worker's death (Advertising Age (tiered subscription model))

• Pepsi print campaign sparks controversy (Advertising Age (tiered subscription model))

• U.S. has been in recession for a year, economists say (International Herald Tribune)

• The downturn's new rules for marketers (The McKinsey Quarterly)

• Luxury marketers use personal touch to retain top customers (Los Angeles Times)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

AAF Spotlight

• Join the AAF as We Celebrate the Future of Advertising
  The Most Promising Minority Students Program connects the advertising industry with the nation's most talented minority students. Each year, college seniors are nominated by their AAF college chapter advisers in recognition of their passion for advertising and outstanding achievements both inside and outside the classroom. This year's finalists will spend three days in New York City where they will have the chance to participate in career development workshops, networking, interviewing and industry immersion opportunities.

  The program will take place from Feb. 3 to Feb. 5, 2009, at the New York Athletic Club. The 2009 class of Most Promising Minority Students will be honored at the Building Bridges for Our Future Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2009. For more information on the Most Promising Minority Students Program or for tickets and sponsorships, please visit www.aaf.org/mpms.

  

SmartQuote

Advertising is, actually, a simple phenomenon in terms of economics. It is merely a substitute for a personal sales force -- an extension, if you will, of the merchant who cries aloud his wares." --Rosser Reeves, member, Advertising Hall of Fame