Automaker Hyundai Motor America is extending a Spanish-language ad campaign it launched in connection with the 2006 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. A new 30-second TV spot, dubbed "Train," will be unveiled next month as part of the carmaker's evolving "Inspira respeto" campaign. It opens with a passenger train traveling at high speed until it comes to a halt at a street crossing to make way for a Sonata. In the first spot in the effort, called "Arrival," several cars drive through bustling city streets and suddenly shuffle about to make way for various Hyundai models, such as the Accent, …

Coca-Cola has beefed up its stable of non-carbonated drinks with the introduction of a new line of premium iced teas. The company launched its Gold Peak line this week, which targets what the company called "everyday gourmets" with high-end, traditional-tasting iced tea that comes in five flavors. Coke spokesman John Stowell said competitors offer an increasingly complicated variety of flavor blends, but Coke is going in the other direction with Gold Peak's "simple-to-understand" flavors for adult tea drinkers. They include sweetened, unsweetened, lemon, diet and green teas, which retail for up to $1.49. The new line's introduction will be supported …

Food marketers in the U.K. are being pressured by Britain's prime minister to be careful how they advertise to children or risk a ban on all ads targeting kids. Tony Blair said this week that if voluntary regulations fail, the government will take steps to force the industry to eliminate junk food ads to children next year. Blair made his remarks in a speech in which he urged Britons to tackle problems of obesity, smoking, and alcohol abuse. "It is worth pausing for a moment to consider the consequences that inaction will bring. The economic burden of chronic disease ... …

There's good news for beer marketers. After a survey last year revealed that beer was falling out of favor among Americans, sales began dipping. Now, new research shows that the suds are back in business. A just-released Gallup poll found that 41 percent of the respondents said beer is their preferred beverage over wine (33 percent). The margin of victory was substantially higher than last year's poll, which showed 39 percent of respondents drank wine more frequently, compared to 36 percent for beer. "We think this is a real sign that things are starting to turn," says Bob Lachky, vp …

Athletic apparel marketer Reebok is going Hollywood. The company announced this week that it has signed an agreement with actress Scarlett Johansson to develop what it described as a "fashion-forward, athletic-inspired" footwear and apparel collection called "Scarlett 'Hearts' Rbk." The introduction of the line will be supported by TV, print, Internet, and outdoor. "Scarlett embodies the pulse points of our brand--individuality, authenticity, and a life lived to the fullest in perpetual motion," Reebok President-CEO Paul Harrington says about the 21-year-old star. He says these characteristics make her the perfect fit for Reebok's new women's footwear and apparel collection, as well …

Now that Microsoft has acquired the in-game ad network Massive, it's taking the company to the next level in video-game advertising. This week, Microsoft said Massive will begin offering interactive ads as another way for marketers to connect with gamers. Automaker Toyota is the first advertiser to use the new interactive ad--the company's 2007 Yaris sedan will be featured in the multiplayer game "Anarchy Online," published by Funcom. Massive spokesperson Amy Janzen says when gamers click on billboards featuring the Yaris, the ads reveal more information about the car. Massive was acquired in May by Microsoft in a deal valued …

Beer marketer Anheuser-Busch is taking event sponsorship for its Bud Light brand to a new level, incorporating viral marketing into the mix. In the Chicago area, the company is sponsoring a wide range of events, such as food fairs, block parties and music festivals. At each, the company sends teams of field reps to roam the grounds, taking photos and making videos of consumers. The same day the photos and mini-films are taken, they are e-mailed to the subjects, after being ornamented with Bud Light branding. The campaign's goal is to get consumers to pass along the photos and the …

Spirits marketer Beam Global Spirits & Wine is looking for a new marketing boss. The company, which recently completed a massive expansion of its marketing department following an acquisition that doubled its size, says current CMO Beth Bronner is "departing the company to pursue other interests." In 2005, Beam acquired several new brands from Allied Domeq, including Sauza tequila and Makers Mark whiskey, for $1.2 billion. At the time, Bronner was charged with scaling Beam's marketing to its new stature as the world's No. 4 distiller. She increased marketing personnel to 160 from 85 and planned aggressive increases in spending …

Hewlett-Packard has included viral marketing as part of an edgy, new global campaign designed to create a hipper image for the computer company. The viral portion of the effort consisted of an unusual Web site that debuted during the World Cup soccer tournament called FingerSkilz.tv. The site showed close-up videos of a man's hand on a desktop, using two fingers to perform soccer tricks with a wadded-up paper "ball." It attracted more than 180,000 unique visitors, prompted widespread discussion on blogs, and moved imitators to create their own "fingerball" videos and post them on the Web. Rumors swirled that the …

When Walt Disney announced several years ago that it was making a movie called "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," potential marketing partners scoffed at the idea of a film based on an amusement park ride. But after the movie opened in the summer of 2003 and went on to gross $653 million worldwide, they changed their tune. This year, companies lined up to get a piece of the movie's sequel, Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," which hit theaters earlier this month. A long list of marketing tie-ins--including Volvo, Kodak, Kellogg's, Visa, MySpace …