Like soccer itself, McDonald's is going global with a range of promotions and marketing activities designed to support the fast-food marketer's sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament that kicked off last Friday in Germany. Much of the effort is targeted to the Hispanic consumers, the company said. One initiative, the Player Escort Program, involves sending more than 1400 children ages six to 10 to the tournament. McDonald's is also giving consumers around the world a chance to play an online game at a special Web site, www.FIFAworldcup.com. The McDonald's/FIFA Fantasy game is available in nine languages and give …

Diet Coke and Mentos mint candies are reaping a publicity bonanza from an odd experiment in which the two ingredients are mixed together to produce a soda geyser that rivals Old Faithful. Hundreds of amateur videos recording the reaction have been made and plastered all over the Internet, resulting in a gush of free advertising for each brand. The popularity of the videos has resulted in different reactions from the two major players. "We are tickled pink by it," says Pete Healy, vice president of marketing for Mentos, which spends less than $20 million on U.S. advertising annually. He estimates …

Marketers who want to corner the market on outdoor advertising in Times Square will soon have the opportunity to do just that. In a new deal between Reuters and Nasdaq, advertisers can now buy a package deal that will give them two of the most highly visible and valuable outdoor ad sites in the world--the Reuters sign and the Nasdaq Tower that face each other at the south end of Times Square. Reuters and Nasdaq made the deal late last week, just as advertisers are beginning to roll out more outdoor advertising to take advantage of warmer weather and higher …

The Walt Disney Co. wants consumers to dream--and then the company plans to make those dreams come true. Dreams are the key element of a new, first-ever global marketing effort the company announced this week that includes advertising and promotions that will last for a full year. The theme of the ad effort is "Where Dreams Come True," while the promotion--which will be held at each Disney theme park around the world--is called "Year of a Million Dreams." Both initiatives are based on two years of consumer research and insight that revealed a single view of Disney Parks--that Disney is …

There was a time when using rock music in advertising campaigns was unheard of. The artists considered such a move a sell-out, and would never allow their songs to be associated with a commercial product or service. But things have changed so much that now marketers are hard-pressed to find songs for campaigns that haven't already been used. As a result, marketers and their agencies now find themselves scrambling to find popular hit songs to use in their commercials. "A lot of the big, known songs and baby-boomer hits that we have grown up with have been used," says Mike …

Using images of George Washington and Abe Lincoln to sell products is an old idea that usually pops up every February in connection with special "Presidents' Day" sales for everything from clothes to cars. But when one marketer wanted to use the presidential faces on the Mount Rushmore National Monument, officials drew a line in the sand. Proshade, a consumer-eyewear company, offered to pay $4 million to adorn the presidential faces on the Mount Rushmore National Monument with larger-than-life Proshade visors. Not surprisingly, park officials said no thanks. Mount Rushmore "is a national monument, an icon of America," said Gerard …

The National Basketball Association has decided that basketball is not just for male fans, and has launched a new marketing effort in an attempt to get more women to watch games. The new effort focuses on the players rather than the action on the court, underscoring the NBA's belief that women are more interested in the game's personalities than in the game itself. The campaign targets women 18-34, and encourages them not only to watch games--but also to talk about players and wear the jersey dresses, leather jackets, pink caps, and tank tops with Swarovski crystals. To reinforce the strategy …

Clothing retailer H&M has signed pop star Madonna as a celebrity endorser, and the singer will appear as the face of a fall marketing campaign that will launch in August in magazines and on billboards. The campaign--a global effort--will be handled in-house, and will also feature people from Madonna's current touring troupe, including her band, dancers, and crew members. All will be outfitted in offstage clothing from H&M. "Madonna picked out people she works with all the time to be in the campaign with her to show the diversity and personal styles that anyone can dress in H&M," said rep …

Steve McKee, a Cleveland Advertising executive who owns his own ad agency, has some very particular ideas about what makes compelling ad copy. He believes in the power of words, not necessarily to sell products but to turn off potential customers. "From the time marketing began, there has never been a shortage of self-appointed experts who claim to have identified the words that will unlock your customers' wallets," McKee writes. "In the Internet age their advice is even easier to come by. They promise that words such as 'you,' 'guarantee,' 'easy,' 'limited-time,' and the old standby, 'free,' will generate surefire …

Panasonic Battery Corp's Oxyride brand doesn't just want to beat its competition, it wants to neuter it. The company is kicking off a new promotion June 14 with what it calls a "Neuter Your Bunny Day" targeting its toughest competitor, the Energizer Bunny. On that day, five pet owners will be selected to have their rabbits neutered for free. Panasonic will also present a $10,000 donation to the House Rabbit Society, an international nonprofit animal rescue and education organization. "It takes a brave client to take an approach like this and take risks to help increase awareness for its branding," …