• retail Men's Wearhouse: Not Your Father's Suit by Aaron Baar

  Looking to change the idea that being or wearing a "suit" is somehow undesirable, Men's Wearhouse is targeting a younger, hipper client in a new advertising campaign that encourages young men to show off their inherent, individual styles. ...Read the whole story

• Rentrak Retains MPG's Collaborative Alliance, First Project: A VOD Network TV Directory by Joe Mandese

  MPG's Collaborative Alliance has entered into a formal agreement with Nielsen TV audience measurement rival Rentrak, and its first project is to create a much-needed database that advertisers and agencies can use to evaluate and plan which television networks offer free, ad-supported video-on-demand (VOD) channels. ...Read the whole story

• spirits Tequila Avion Spoofs S&M To Make A Point by Karlene Lukovitz

  On-screen title copy during the spot announces the tagline: "Pain has its place ... just not in tequila." Accompanying copy for the bottle shot at the end: "Choose pleasure." The spot is from agency Walton Isaacson. ...Read the whole story

• electronics New Nook Heals 'No. 1' Bedroom Woe by Aaron Baar

  Barnes & Noble positions itself as marriage savior in a new campaign for its latest e-reader innovation, the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, the first "E-Ink" reader that illuminates to accommodate reading in darkness. ...Read the whole story

• Univision Touts Strong TV, Radio Returns And Younger Demos by David Goetzl

  Univision CEO Randy Falco acknowledged the increased competition in the Spanish-language TV space, but suggested the company's entrenched leadership will continue -- even as News Corp. has joined the fold and Comcast looks to upgrade Telemundo. In the first quarter, excluding political dollars, net revenue for the company was up 9.3%. ...Read the whole story

• Fox Wins Thursday May Sweeps Night, CBS Gets Closer by Wayne Friedman

  Closing in on the end of the season, the second week of the big May sweeps period gave Fox another Thursday night win. But second-place CBS got closer to the top spot versus the week before. ...Read the whole story

• food Oscar Mayer Selects Makes Limited-Time Social Offer by Karlene Lukovitz

  Themed "It's Yes Food," the campaign - one of the largest in Oscar Mayer's history - kicked off with three humorous TV spots showing a mother having to say "no" to all kinds of things, but happy to say "yes" to Selects cold cuts, hot dogs and bacon. ...Read the whole story

Ask yourself the obvious question about original programming on digital platforms: How can the likes of Hulu, YouTube, AOL or Yahoo pay for topflight programming, stuff consumers are used to seeing on traditional TV? Answer: Right now, they are not paying topflight talent that much -- maybe as low as $15 an hour. ...More

• Return-Path-Data Lexicon: Advanced Television Organizations by Jane Clarke

  Let's give a nod this week to organizations in the advanced television space, specifically the ATVEF (the Advanced Television Enhancement Forum) and the ATSC (the Advanced Television Systems Committee). Both of these groups are actively involved in advancing compliance by helping to form and advance technical standards for industrywide use. ...More

• Bloomberg Moves To Better 'Neighborhood,' But What About Other Independent Channels? by Wayne Friedman

  We exist in a media a la carte world when it comes to new digital platforms. After all, the program -- or the content -- is the thing. Less importance is based on a program's association with Hulu, Netflix, Amazon or YouTube. But in the old TV world - specifically the current cable TV scenario - that means a lot, especially to the likes of independent network owners such as Bloomberg Television. For its part, Bloomberg wants to be in the next to the big cable news networks -- all to help push along its business. ...More

• What Will Happen At The Upfront? Takeaways From Today's IRTS Newsmaker Breakfast by Dave Morgan

  Like many others trying to figure out what will happen at this year's TV upfront, I spent the morning at the annual IRTS Newsmaker Breakfast: The Media Buyers, timed to coincide with the beginning of the upfront. This year's panel was comprised of some of the top media buyers in the U.S.: Initiative's Kris Magel, Starcom's Mike Rosen, UM's David Cohen and Digitas' Stephanie Sarofian. As in past years, the media buyer panel was moderated by media economist and industry luminary Jack Myers. ...More

• Every Screen is a TV; Nielsen Says Gaming Consoles, Mobile Viewing Up by Daisy Whitney

  Recently, my son wanted to see a different TV show than the one his sister was watching on the big screen. I said he could watch his show somewhere else and he pointed out that his sister was using the TV. I laughed and said "Every screen in this house is a TV." And they are. We don't have cable service and the ten-year-old TV set we have doesn't tune in broadcast channels. So whether it's the big screen, a Mac computer, a tablet or a mobile phone - any device with a screen is equal in my house. They ...More

• A Critical Look Back As Upfront Week Approaches by Ed Martin

  Programming executives at the broadcast networks next week will be locked away in conference and screening rooms, making all-important decisions about their 2012-13 schedules. The following week, they will each try their best to convince advertisers and journalists they have a roster of fresh and exciting new shows that will play well with their veteran series. What better time to remind them what they did right and wrong last year? As we hear what they have to say the week of May 14, it could be helpful to remember the many misfires noted below. ...More

• NHL PrePlay App Looks Beyond Check-ins, Tune-ins and Social TV by Steve Smith

  The National Hockey League is going beyond Social TV with second-screen gaming that revives a familiar predicitive play model. The hope is not only to get people to tune in or check in, but to stay in their seats, fully engaged with the TV programming. ...More