If you're looking for some inspirational reading, check out ad industry veteran Jerry Della Femina's survey of the "Five Best Books on the Art of Advertising" in the Wall Street Journal. The list highlights books from industry pioneers such as David Ogilvy, Bill Bernbach, "the father of advertising's creative revolution in the early 1950s," and Rosser Reeves, who invented the term Unique Selling Proposition, or USP. Della Femina includes two instructional choices: Ogilvy's Confessions of an Advertising Man, "the definitive 'how to' book about advertising from the ultimate man in the gray flannel suit"; and A Technique for Producing Ideas-- …

General Motors Corp., the second largest advertiser in America and known for being loyal to its ad agencies, it considering making changes in its lineup of shops. In the last three month, the giant automaker has made a few revealing moves indicating that shops like Campbell-Ewald and Leo Burnett, which have handled GM Business for decades, might be losing ground. For example, GM assigned creative work for several Cadillac brands to Boston agency Modernista, which has done work for GM's Hummer brand. That work had previously been done by Burnett. Also, GM's Chevrolet, after so many years with Campbell-Ewald, has …

Advertisers who use branded entertainment as part of their marketing strategy have a new venue in which they can place their products--television news programs. Previously considered off limits to product integration, cash-strapped stations are now reaching out to advertisers for deals. "There are more local news stations that are incorporating brands into news in innovative, cutting-edge ways," said Aaron Gordon, president of entertainment marketing firm Set Resources Inc. "The line, which has always been black and white in terms of what's news and what's commercials, is now being blurred." Among those station cutting deals with advertisers--many of which include media …

As part of a major transformation plan, food marketer Sara Lee Corp. will consolidate creative advertising accounts for its food and beverage unit with one or possibly two agencies following a review. The work is currently being handed by a handful of agencies. Billings for the combined account will total $80 million, which includes the $21 million Hillshire Farms brands business and the $37 million Sara Lee deli and bakery account. Additional business for the Earthgrains breads brand will also be included. Omnicom's TBWA/Chiat/Day, Playa del Rey, Calif., which already handles Ball Park, Jimmy Dean and Senseo brands for Sara …

Microsoft is gearing up for a major, $500 million advertising blitz to support the launch of a slew of new product lines. The effort will carry a "People Ready" banner and will target business decision makers ranging from department heads to CEOs. The product lineup includes Microsoft's new Vista operating system, new Office suite and Windows Mobile software. The campaign's central; message will be that Microsoft technology can help managers get their employees to achieve business goals. "This company was founded on empowering individuals," said Matt Ross, president of McCann Worldgroup in San Francisco and head of the Microsoft account. …

Del Monte Foods has decided the future lies with pets, not kids. The food marketer this week said it would acquire Kraft's pet foods lines, including the Milk-Bone brand, for $508 million. Earlier this month the company made a similar purchase when it bought Meow Mix cat food brands for $705 million. To pay for the purchases, Del Monte said it is selling its private-label soups and baby food brands. The company already owns a slew of pet products, including 9 Lives, Snausages and Kibbles 'n Bits. "We believe the integration (Milk-Bone and Meow Mix) will take time but may …

The German automaker Volkswagen AG is in trouble for speaking Spanish. In a recent billboard ad for its GTI model targeting the Hispanic market, the company used the word "cojones," which literally translated means testicles. The ad showed a photo of the car with the words "Turbo-Cojones." VW was using the word colloquially to mean bold and daring, but the plan backfired, especially among Cuban-Americans in Miami. "In English, Turbo-Balls might not sound so offensive," says Luis Perez Tolon, an instructor at Miami-Dade College who supervises a writing program for the Spanish-language network Telemundo. "But in the Spanish-speaking community, it …

Association of National Advertisers President-CEO Bob Liodice says marketers are still shouldering much of the blame for increased rates of obesity in American children despite launching several positive initiatives to help remedy the problem. The initiatives include the introduction of thousands of new and reformulated products; the promotion of healthier and more active lifestyles; the introduction of new ways to market food products to children; and the enhancement of the industry's program for self-regulation of children's advertising. In his blog on the ANA Web site, Liodice says the food manufacturing and advertising industries are "working hard to be part of …

Everyone knows that China is the hot new market and branded entertainment is the hot new marketing strategy. Now the biggest marketer of them all, Procter & Gamble, is setting new standards by acting as a pioneer in both arenas. The giant consumer products marketer has teamed up with numerous local reality TV broadcasters in China to develop innovative methods for embedding its products in programming. The company recently invested nearly $1 million with Hunan Satellite TV, a provincial channel with national distribution through cable and satellite media, to make Gillette Vector the title sponsor of a folk art show …

A former advertising agency executive has been named CMO at Bank of America and will now oversee the company's $600 million marketing budget. The bank announced Wednesday that Anne Finucane will become head of BofA's global marketing and corporate affairs, succeeding Cathy Bessant, who had served in that role since 2002. Bessant is becoming the company's head of global treasury services. In her new role, Finucane will be responsible for all of BofA's advertising, brand management and sponsorships. She is a former executive at Interpublic Group of Companies' Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos in Boston. Last year under Bessant, BofA's ad …