Two Shows Hope to Change Sitcom Stigma

With today’s network humor landscape looking lackluster, marketing energy is being focused on two new shows - NBC’s My Name Is Earl and UPN’s Everybody Hates Chris - as cures for the ailing sitcom, Broadcasting & Cable writes. Younger audiences particularly feel the sitcom has gone stale and stupid. Both new shows are intent on changing that perception.

My Name Is Earl is about a smalltime crook who wins a lottery and resolves to make amends for past wrongdoings, and Everybody Hates Chris is Chris Rock’s look back at a difficult childhood.

DM Industry Suffers Hit from Katrina

The DM industry is expected to take a hit from the catastrophic damage inflicted by Hurricane Katrina, as mail service in and around the region encompassing southern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama has been curtailed, with no estimates on when it will be reinstated, DM News reports. The U.S. Postal Service said its New Orleans processing and distribution center ceased operating at noon Sunday, no drop shipments are being accepted, and retail and delivery services are also suspended until further notice. FedEx also expects disruptions to all of its local operations.

JetBlue Places Media and Creative Account in Review

JetBlue has placed its estimated $25 million creative and media account in review, and media planning and buying incumbent Wieden + Kennedy will not be defending the media portion of the business, AdWeek reports. According to TNS Media Intelligence, JetBlue spent $15 million in U.S. media in 2001, $20 million in 2002 and 2003, and approximately $25 million in 2004. The Ad Store in New York has handled creative duties for the last four years. Neither agency was available for comment.

Good News, Games Developers: Kids Seek Info Online

Video games have become a daily activity in the lives of today’s children, according to a study from JuniorSeniorResearch and reported by BusinessWeek. The study, which polled 4,000 boys and girls up to the age of 15, found that 61 percent play video games on a daily basis, and that 65 percent of those actually prefer to play their games on the PC rather than consoles and handhelds.

Village Voice Media Expected to Merge with New Times

Documents that “appear to be valid” regarding an alleged merger between Village Voice Media and New Times have surfaced, according to Tim Redmond of The San Francisco Bay Guardian (via Editor & Publisher). The agreement outlined in the documents calls for a nine-member board that would control a combined company called Newco. The New Times, which publishes 11 papers including the SF Weekly (the Bay Guardian’s rival), would own 62 percent of the equity, while Village Voice Media, with its six papers including the Village Voice, would own 38 percent.

The documents reportedly named November 30 as a closing date. If the deal goes through, it could be one of the largest in the alt-media world.

300+ Advertisers Use Ad-ID, Crave Better Tracking

More than 300 advertisers have implemented Ad-ID, an XML-based ad coding standard, according to the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), ClickZ reports (via MarketingVox), adding that last August backers reported Ad-ID was actively in use by some 100 marketers. Some 875 companies have registered to use it, and 14,000 individual ad codes have been created. Ad-ID was proposed several years ago to facilitate marketing workflow and ad measurement, enabling both the labeling of specific marketing assets and the recording of XML-based metadata about them, such as who created it and when an ad is to run.

Clear Channel’s ‘Stripped’ Snares Grammy Winning Talent

Clear Channel Radio announced today a new lineup of artists to appear on its online video series, “Stripped.” Artists will include Grammy and MTV Video Music Award winner Kanye West, as well as artists Staind, Switchfoot, Melissa Etheridge, and Big & Rich. The Stripped series is Clear Channel’s in-studio performance series created for “artists who thrive on performing without the typical studio and video embellishments. Just music, raw and real.”

Lexus Measures Effectiveness of U.S. Open Sponsorship

Lexus and its advertising agency, Zenith Media, signed on for Nielsen Sports’ Sponsorship Scorecard service, which provides ratings and verification information for sponsored media placed in TV sporting events, Mediaweek reports. Lexus is the “Official Vehicle of the U.S. Open,” which began today, and is the presenting sponsor of the men’s singles championship.

Sat Radio Listeners ‘Make Any Marketer Drool’

BIGresearch has produced a “Simultaneous Media Survey Profile” of satellite radio listeners. According to Audio Graphics, some of the data, such as the findings that there are 9.5 million satellite radio listeners, should be suspect.

The report also finds that satellite listeners shop for groceries at Wal-Mart. Audio Graphics points out that WalMart is another customer of BIGresearch.

As the report says, listeners of satellite radio, from a consumption standpoint, are “enough to make any marketer drool.”

Equifax Acquires BeNow

Equifax Inc. has acquired database marketing services provider BeNow Inc., DM News reports. BeNow will become part of Equifax Marketing Services and will continue to provide database management and analytics services to clients, including General Motors, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Hammacher Schlemmer, Tower Records, and MetLife. The company will maintain offices in Wakefield, Mass. CEO Brad Neuenhaus will join Equifax as senior vice president. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.