[Restaurants] Antje Burbach, a Burger King spokeswoman in Switzerland, says the fast-food giant has begun reviewing its meals, along with advertising and marketing messages, in Africa and the Middle East, and also vows to implement the same strategy there, if needed. ...Read the whole story

[Research] In this year's survey, conducted on a representative sample of 3,000 adult U.S. consumers, 47% said that inserts/circulars best capture their attention, 43% cited television ads and 38% cited newspaper display ads. That represented a 9% increase for inserts, a 10% decrease for TV ads and a 7% decrease for newspaper ads since the 2003 survey. ...Read the whole story

[Restaurants] A spokesperson says the promotion is a celebration of Dunkin' Donuts having been named No. 1 in Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index for the second year in a row. But a press release would indicate otherwise, saying that the company "wants to ensure that no coffee lover is denied a delicious espresso-based beverage." ...Read the whole story

[Retail] "We were determined to make sure pens from these materials are as high-quality as our regular pens. We wanted them to have that same Pilot writing feel." The marketing veep says the company hopes to soon expand to other products as well, including highlighters, "but a lot of those decisions are going to be driven by how much material is available for manufacturing." ...Read the whole story

[Direct Mail] Valpak will send promotional packs to 43 million American households. They will contain messaging and pictures promoting the upcoming Fox release, "Horton Hears a Who." Additionally, the packs will include details about how to enter a sweepstakes in which the grand prize is a year's worth of IHOP family dinners. ...Read the whole story

[Packaged Goods] A.G. Lafley said he hopes better information on in-store marketing's impact will contribute to better ROI. P&G can "improve returns on total marketing spending because we can compare returns on in-store programs with returns from our out-of-store consumer marketing," he said. ...Read the whole story

Once upon a time, before Al Gore invented the Internet, kids played with toys in the real world. It was a dark and dismal world ... ...More