After years of almost no advertising, apparel firm No Nonsense has rolled out a modest print and Web campaign in a push by the company, which has barley advertised at all since 2003, when spending was just $304,000. No Nonsense makes socks, tights, sleepwear panties, bras and body shapers and hopes to lose a more matronly reputation with ads featuring young women in the bathroom and running around in knit dresses.

According to Denzil Strickland, creative director of agency Garage, "We developed a campaign that celebrates the concept of No Nonsense, while introducing women to new categories of No Nonsense products." The effort will run in fashion and lifestyle magazines like Glamour and InStyle. A company exec says the decision to begin advertising again results from some successful brand expansions.

"We're a multicategory brand now," says Julia Townsend and executive of Kayser-Roth. "Our products are designed for today's no-nonsense women. By advertising in high-profile publications, we can tell our story to a whole new generation." Read the whole story...

Warner Bros. and NBC Universal have finalized three deals, including one that could lead to the launch of a new daytime talk show next year featuring comedian Bonnie Hunt that will run on TV stations owned by NBCU. The company also renewed for its TV stations two highly successful syndicated shows: "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and "Extra!" Both are produced by Warner Bros.

Under terms off the deals, DeGeneres will run on NBC through 2011 while "Extra" gets until at least 2012. NBC has begun to rely more on Warner after its own production folks came up with some costly flops in daytime talk, including "The Megan Mullally Show" and "The Jane Pauley Show."

Warner wouldn't talk about financial details, but Ken Werner, president of its Domestic Television Distribution division, says there is still money to be made in syndication deals with TV stations. "Broadcasters have realized that they must have distinctive and quality first-run programming," he says. "That's what sets them apart from their competition. And we want to be a supplier to everyone." Read the whole story...

The National Association of Broadcasters CEO has unveiled what he calls the "Radio 2020" initiative, which David Rehr describes as a "road map to building radio's future.' Key to the initiative is ensuring that radio is part of new technologies, while also meeting consumer needs for variety and format diversity.

Further, "we must continually seek ways to meet the demands of our consumers -- encouraging more variety and diversity, spurring more innovations in electronics, and helping marketers develop even more innovative and compelling advertisements."

He notes that one thing about the medium that needs more promotion is just how available and cheap it is. Radio 2020 is also designed to help respond to the industry's detractors, Rehr says. Read the whole story...

A TV ad for a new fragrance form Sean 'P Diddy' Combs featuring the rap star and a scantily clad model has been cleared to run in the U.K. after American regulators deep-sixed it. While the Federal Communications Commission found the spot for Unforgivable Woman too hot for the American tube, Britain's Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre gave it the OK to air -- but only after 9 p.m.

Combs stars in the ad and also produced and directed it, pretty much bypassing any need for an ad agency. It shows him meeting a woman in a hotel lobby who ends up in both sexy lingerie and a whirlwind affair with Combs, who says he wants it "judged by the public rather than by executives. Some people may be uncomfortable with the sensuality and sexual content, but it is important for them to make that decision personally." The perfume itself is the latest offering from Sean John Fragrances, a unit of Estee Lauder. Read the whole story...