Gay Billboards Come Down in Boston, Refused in GA

Clear Channel Outdoor pulled a billboard ad for Gay.com in Boston a day before the contract was set to expire, following complaints from the Article 8 Alliance, the Boston Globe reports. The ad showed two bare-chested men embracing under an American flag. The ad had been on Boston billboards since early April, but five complaint calls to Clear Channel earlier in the week prompted the removal of the ad, said Drew Hoffman, president of Clear Channel Outdoor. Gay.com spokesperson Spencer Moore was not upset the billboard had come down. He pointed out that the media company has leeway on the days it takes billboards down depending on weather or what crews are working, according to the Washington Blade. He claimed the coverage in the Boston Globe was a non-story, more about a fringe group that wants to think it has more power than it does.

New Details On Ask Jeeves’ PPC Platform

According to two advertisers who have been briefed on Ask Jeeves’ launch of a replacement of its Premier Listings offering on Monday, the company plans to sell advertisers the top three sponsored-link positions on its search-results pages using an automated auction system, Dow Jones reports.

Ask Jeeves will only display its own ads in the top spots, above ads provided by Google, if they are more lucrative than Google’s ads. That value will be determined by both the advertisers’ bid price for keywords and the rate at which consumers click on their ads.

Digital Radio Revolution Looms - In 12 Years

More than 450 stations in the U.S. now broadcast one or two digital channels in addition to analog ones, and at least 2,000 more are committed to adding the format, the New York Times reports. Clear Channel, which owns 1,200 stations, says it is committed to taking 95 percent of its stations in the top 100 markets to digital within three years. Digital AM sound is comparable to today’s stereo analog FM, while digital FM improves reception and sound and uses little enough bandwidth to allow multiple channels.

Newspapers Focus on Circ. Quality, Not Quantity

Newspaper executives are making good on the promise to increase “quality” copies, Editor & Publisher reports.

Other paid circulation, which is comprised of hotel, newspapers-in-education (NIE), employee, and third-party sales copies, was up 6.9 percent for the six-month period ending March 2005, according to a study from Prudential Equity Research. As a contrast, for the period ending September 2004, other-paid circulation was up 34.2 percent.

Overall, total daily circ decreased 2.7 percent in March when compared to the same period last year. Home delivered copies dropped 2.7 percent. Discounted copies were up 85 percent. Single-copy sales slipped 7.1 percent.

Esprit Says Target’s ‘Vertical Runway’ its Idea

Earlier this week, Target presented New York with its first “vertical fashion show,” with model/acrobats attached to harnesses dancing down the face of Rockefeller Center, the New York Post reports. Now, German clothing company Esprit says it has been planning not one but six vertical runways down the sides of the Time Warner Center for early September. Target says it had no idea of Esprit’s plans and that the idea came from its sister store, Marshall Fields.

Google Applies for RSS Ad Patent

Yesterday, Google filed an application, “Embedding advertisements in syndicated content,” with the US Patent and Trade Office, ClickZ reports. The patent deals with a method for “incorporating targeted ads into information in a syndicated presentation format in an automated manner.” Beyond just RSS and Atom feeds, the method described also pertains to syndicated formats that are XML compliant.

Google rolled out the beta version of its AdSense for RSS offering to all publishers in May, but it could face prior art challenges on any patent award. Pheedo and Kanoodle are among the networks with longer-standing RSS ad insertion offerings.

Teens Totally Ignore Online Radio

Unfortunately for radio professionals, one of the most interesting observations about teens online from yesterday’s release of Pew Internet and American Life Project’s 57-page “Teens and Technology” report is that the word radio isn’t used once, even though thousands of stations have an online presence, Audio Graphics reports.

Begin Back-To-School DM by Aug. 5

Beginning back-to-school promotions and pay-per-click campaigns by August 5 is key for retailers looking to optimize natural buying trends online, DM News reports. A MarketingExperiments.com merchandising calendar guide outlines when promotions should begin year-round to help retailers make the most of seasonal sales.

Craigslist Soars, Local Classifieds Slump

Traffic to Craigslist.org spiked with a 62 percent increase for the week ending July 23, 2005, over the same week last year, ClickZ reports. Craigslist local sites are also gaining market share. Hitwise reports that for the 60 most popular local Craigslist domains, collective visits rose 98 percent for the week ending June 25 over the same week last year. Fastest growing city sites for Craigslist are: Fresno, CA; Providence, R.I.; Miami; and Dallas.

Online Adspend on Real Estate to Reach $1.8 Billion

Online lead generators and aggregators will rake in half of the estimated $1.8 billion that will be spent on online advertising related to real estate this year, with the likes of Realtor.com and IAC/InterActive Corp.’s RealEstate.com typically getting between $8 and $15 per lead, writes MediaPost (via MarketingVox), citing a new advertising research report issued this week by Borrell Associates.