Read the whole story...

Read the whole story...

Procter & Gamble Co. signed an advertising pact valued at more than $100 million with the Oprah Winfrey Network, according to sources, notes The Wall Street Journal. The deal comes as the ad market heats up in advance of the yearly TV upfront. P&G's deal with OWN follows the network's planned debut next January. OWN, a joint venture between Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Inc. and cable programmer Discovery Communications Inc., is to replace the Discovery Health Channel in its approximately 80 million U.S. homes. Winfrey, the most popular host on daytime TV, is slated to appear prominently on the network.
Fox Business News  says the agreement with OWN will last three years and will include both ad time and the integration of its products into OWN shows. P&G, the maker of various home and beauty products is enjoying a rebound in advertising spending, which was up 6.3% in January from the previous year. While the network confirmed the mltiyear deal, P&G, the maker of Old Spice deotorants, Pantene, Tampax and Tide refused to give specifics, said Gaea Times.
Winfrey, who transformed daytime TV and created several new shows, with Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz, said she will end her popular network TV show, which debuted in 1986, in September 2011. Read the whole story...

Ford is going to build a three-cylinder, 1.0-liter, direct-injection, turbocharged engine for a new car in China in the near future, it says, and the engine will be part of it EcoBoost engine family, in all regions, including the U.S., Brent Snavely reports.

Dubbed the Ford Start, the minicar will be targeted to residents of large cities. "The Ford Start delivers a dynamic, personality-driven design that stays true to the global Ford brand," says J Mays, Ford's group vp of design and chief creative officer.

Ford plans to offer its direct-injection, turbocharged EcoBoost engines on 11 models globally, or seven more than the company currently offers, by the end of this year, Snavely writes. Read the whole story...

Today is the 25th anniversary of the introduction of New Coke, Kai Ryssdal reports, which "like Max Headroom ... faded mercifully into obscurity as one of the biggest product launch disasters ever."

Headroom, for those who may have missed his brief career as a spokesandroid for the beverage, gets a sound clip in the piece ("Now when you first tried Coke, I bet you said, 'Uh-uh. Not for me.' But hey, let's not let first impressions sway us....') Bottom line: First impressions did sway most consumers, and it wasn't long before "Coke Classic" was back on the shelf. And not long after that, New Coke was gone and Coke became just plain Coke again.

In honor of the anniversary, Ryssdal talks with BevNET.com president John Craven about the lessons the beverage industry learned. One takeaway: It's even harder today to "build cool intentionally," as Craven puts it. "Right now in the beverage business we've got a ton of small brands, but there isn't one that is the breakout of the year," he says. Read the whole story...

United and Continental Airlines are said to be moving rapidly toward a merger, Julie Johnsson reports, following US Airways formally ending its talks with United on Thursday. A deal could come as early as next week, sources tell her, although some "thorny 'social' issues," such as where to locate headquarters, are still on the table.

Continental walked away from a deal with United just before an announcement in 2008, so analysts remain cautious. The two airlines, for their part, remain mum. US Airways, however, said that its talks began to fall apart once Continental reentered the equation; sources say that its executives were furious about being jilted.

"I am sure some 'industry experts' will suggest that US Airways will be strategically harmed if United now chooses to merge with Continental," US Airways CEO Doug Parker wrote in a letter to employees. "They will be wrong." Read the whole story...

Burger King is advertising a brunch in select markets in Florida and Massachusetts that includes a faux $1.99 mimosa that is a mixture of orange juice and Sprite, instead of the usual O.J. and champagne. Advocates are concerned that it sends a wrong message to children, Noreen O'Leary reports.

"It's inappropriate for a family restaurant to be serving drinks that mimic the act of consuming alcoholic beverages," says Susan Linn, director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. "It serves as a message to kids that if you want to feel grown up, you should drink alcohol." It would be better Linn says, to serve a drink with alcohol targeted to adults. Burger King did not immediately respond.

The special brunch menu is available daily until 10:30 a.m. It offers the Whopper burger, as well as a $2.99 ciabatta sandwich with scrambled egg, cheese, tomato, ham and bacon with smoky tomato sauce. Read the whole story...

Gatorade's new strategy to promote a "before, during and after" approach to hydration, as previously re-reported,  will come to life in a campaign breaking tonight on telecasts of the NBA playoff games, Valerie Bauerlein reports.

The new lineup of "G Series" drinks for athletes is Gatorade's "biggest innovation news in its history," according to the company, which claims dibs on the right to say so by dint of being the inventor of the category. "It's our birthright to come along and say, this is what the category is going to be like for the future," says Gatorade CMO Sarah Robb O'Hagan.

Gatorade redubbed itself "G" last year, attempting a return to its roots as a drink concocted in 1965 by University of Florida researchers for its football team. Robb O'Hagan says the new packaging achieved its aim of reconnecting with teenagers, who saw the drink as something "my parents drink." PepsiCo now wants to expand the Gatorade message to broader sports performance. Read the whole story...