Balloons Mean More than Branding in Macy’s Parade

Four new balloon characters will join the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year, according to The New York Times: Mr. Potato Head, Scooby-Doo, JoJo from the Disney Channel’s JoJo’s Circus, and Dora the Explorer, the parade’s first Latina character. The parade sees more than 2.5 million viewers lining the route from Central Park West to Herald Square, with more than 50 million watching on network television.

Napster, XM Launch Co-branded Store

XM Satellite Radio and Napster have launched their co-branded digital music store that will allow users to listen to 70+ XM channels and download music they hear on the service, Beta News reports. Customers will also be able to browse the rest of the service’s catalog, just as with Napster’s regular service.

In-flight Mags Flying High

The in-flight magazine category is gaining traction among readers, driven mainly by improvements in in-flight internet connectivity, and growth is particularly high among non-traditional categories such as high-end consumer electronics, real estate, plastic surgery, and executive dating services, according to new findings from Ink Publishing and reported by Mediapost.

AT&T Reveals Video Plans, May Deliver 1,000 TV Channels Online

The new AT&T - purchased by SBC, which promptly renamed itself AT&T - is betting that it can succeed in creating a new internet delivery channel and bundling voice, video and data, writes paidContent (via MarketingVox), citing a Wall Street Journal report. AT&T execs apparently say the company can deliver 1,000 or more channels of TV over the internet within 18 months, and their video plans include targeted TV advertising, TV via cell phone and video on demand. Yahoo, which has been working with SBC on search technology and advertising, will continue working with AT&T. (

Ads on Buildings Upset Hawaiins

Billboards and other forms of outdoor advertising are banned from any public property in the state of Hawaii, but state and city governments have been allowing private companies to put billboard-style ads inside and outside public structures, The Honolulu Advertiser writes. Signs on state property such as the parking garage at Honolulu International Airport and several downtown city-owned buildings and parking lots, as well as on privately owned buildings, has the Outdoor Circle - a group that champions the state’s ban on billboards - up in arms.

Streaming Video Via Email Skips Downloading

Streaming videos can now be viewed in email messages, not as attachments and without the need to wait for customary downloading and buffering, with the launch of a new video solution from KOTW Inc., the company announced today. This offers advertisers and direct marketers the ability to deliver their messages directly to the consumer, and to know exactly when, who, and how long their ads are watched, read, or heard.

Teens Read Newspapers, Spend One Hour/Week

Fifty-four percent of teens have spent one or more hours reading a newspaper in the last week, according to a new study by Teenage Research Unlimited for the Newspaper Association of America, Mediapost writes. The section of the newspaper most popular with teens by far is the comics, followed by, in descending order, sports, entertainment, advertising (food, clothing, etc.), and local and community news.

The study shows that teens (ages 12-17) spent $158 billion in 2005 - a 6 percent drop from 2004 - but that 46 percent of teens plan to spend more money rather than less in the next 12 months.

MSLO Launching Shelter Mag for Young-Skewing Demo

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia’s latest magazine, Blueprint - geared toward 30-somethings interested in purchasing their first home, will launch in May, AdAge writes. The publication will serve a niche not reached by This Old House, Country Home, or other home magazines which are geared toward an older demo, but it could compete directly with the younger-skewing Domino from Conde Nast.