The city of Anaheim lost $100 million in tourism revenue and publicity when Angels owner Arte Moreno changed the name of the Angels, said a city attorney during the opening of the trial pitting the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim against the City of Anaheim, the AP reports (via the New Albany Tribune). The City alleges that the team breached a contract that promised the word Anaheim would be prominently displayed on all merchandising and advertising materials.
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Blender magazine and TAO Las Vegas are joining to bring “Blender Sessions” at TAO Nightclub to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah beginning Jan. 19. The nightly series of high profile live music performances for celebrities, filmmakers and film industry executives will be sponsored by Absolut, Budweiser and Yahoo, and will take place in the Asian-inspired Park City satellite of the renowned Las Vegas hot spot Tao at The Venetian Hotel.
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Microsoft announced the launch of its adCenter Incubation Lab (adLab), a joint effort between MSN’s adCenter and Microsoft Research, MarketingVOX reports. It is “a state-of-the-art lab in Beijing with a mission to research and incubate advanced technologies for MSN’s adCenter, designed to provide advertisers with rich targeting capabilities based on audience intelligence information,” Microsoft said in its statement. The company highlighted one of those innovative technologies: video hyperlink ads.
The technology “can detect product items displayed on a television screen during a show or commercial,” Microsoft said. Consumer can then “zoom into products featured on the television screen and click through to detailed product descriptions and information on where the products can be bought,” according to the announcement.
Seventy-six percent of all U.S. adults have signed up for the FTC’s Do-Not-Call registry, according to Harris Interactive. That’s a significant increase from January 2004 when 57 percent had registered.
Many of these adults say they have either received no telemarketing calls since then (18 percent) or that they have received some calls, but far fewer than before (61 percent). Six percent of those who have registered report receiving the same number of telemarketing calls than before.
Harris-Nesbitt’s November Radio Airtime Monitor found 7.7 percent less radio commercial time versus December 2004, RadioInk reports. Clear Channel radio cut back the most time at 19 percent. Other radio operators reduced little commercial time (-2 percent).
The Boston Globe has launched a new Style & Arts section emphasizing home, fitness, shopping, and entertainment, Editor & Publisher reports. It will run every Thursday in the Globe and will replace the Thursday Living/Arts and Life at Home sections. The daily Living/Arts will continue to appear throughout the rest of the week.
ABC has rejected nine versions of GoDaddy’s proposed Super Bowl ad on the grounds that it is too racy, MediaPost reports. GoDaddy has a verbal agreement with ABC to air a Super Bowl spot, but no contract yet. ABC has rejected an ad that Fox is airing during its coverage of the NFC playoffs, according to Bob Parson, GoDaddy’s founder and president.
In his blog, Parson wrote that “we will have to decide to either go back to the cutting room floor, or raise the white flag.”
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After 30 years in the same style buildings, McDonald’s is testing new store designs which include comfortable seating, zoned Wi-Fi areas and dimmer lighting, Brandweek reports. Depending on the results, the new design elements could become the U.S. standard.
Katie Couric apparently still refuses to discuss rumors that she may be moving to CBS, the New York Daily News reports. At a cocktail party at the apartment of Time’s managing editor Jim Kelly, she reportedly said, “My contract is not up till May, and I can’t even negotiate until then. This stuff is printed somewhere, and then it gets repeated. I don’t know where it comes from.”
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Passengers on the 9 foreign airlines that carry Boeing’s in-flight internet service will now be able to watch live TV on their laptops through Connexion, AP reports (via Yahoo). The TV channels available are BBC World, CNBC, Eurosportnews, and either EuroNews or MSNBC. The TV service will not cost passengers any extra.
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CBS’s media account, estimated at $130 million annually, is in review, Adweek reports. Aegis Group’s Carat is the incumbent and will defend. Los Angeles-based consultancy Opinions, headed by former McCann Erickson and Sony Pictures executive Cheryl Lodinger, will manage the competition. At stake are national advertising planning and buying duties for TV, print, cable, radio, newspaper magazines and interactive. Local TV and radio is not part of the review.
Interested parties can contact Lodinger directly at clodinger@sbcglobal.net. The deadline for returning the request for proposal is Jan. 27.
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