Saatchi & Saatchi chief Kevin Roberts' talents as an engaging speaker and writer have paid off--finally, some say--in a big way: the $430 million JC Penney creative account. After seeing Roberts speak at a conference, Penney CEO Myron "Mike" Ullman gave a copy of his 2004 book "Lovemarks" to Penney CMO Mike Boylson, with the marching orders that Penney "needed to be a lovemark with middle America." A lovemark, in Roberts' parlance, occupies the upper-right quadrant, where it gets high degrees of both love and respect. Think Apple or Nike. Roberts, a former Procter & Gamble executive, argues that the …

You can TiVo "Desperate Housewives" or the "Sopranos," but watching a warmed-over football game is like eating leftovers. That's the thinking of big guns like GM, Ford, Coors, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Papa John and Adidas. All are in hot pursuit of that slipperiest of consumers--young males who watch live football with ritual fanaticism and don't turn away from the tube, for fear of missing the play that turns the game around. As the season kicks off this week, inventory is 80 percent to 85 percent gone on NBC, CBS and Fox; ESPN's "Monday Night Football" is virtually sold out. …

MINI has a national broadcast budget of zero, and its only new model this year, the Italian-built GP, will be limited to 450 cars in the U.S. What it lacks in size, however, it makes up for in spunk. Witness the 3,100-mile trek across the country in which MINI owners are flying their auto flag high--and hopefully, preaching the MINI gospel to friends, neighbors and colleagues. The "MINI ambassadors," as MINI USA vp Jim McDowell calls them, started out in Monterey, Calif. on Aug. 21 and ended their drive yesterday in Lakeville, Conn. En route, they stayed in four- and …

The proliferation of blogs, video and photo-sharing sites like YouTube and Flickr let marketers get a lot of digital mileage out of low-cost stunts. For example, a McDonald's billboard in Chicago--a specially engineered sundial to highlight different breakfast items with a golden arches shadow--has garnered worldwide attention after a photo was posted on Chicagobusiness.com. For a few hours last March, Folgers placed a vinyl cover over a steam-spewing manhole in New York City, making it look as if there were a piping-hot cup of coffee embedded in the street. Photos ricocheted around the Internet, and eventually ran in the New …

Major advertisers are fleeing the CBS reality show "Survivor" in droves, but none are playing the "race card"--at least not publicly. The exodus began shortly after the show revealed that the makeup of competing teams in the coming season will be based on race. Marketers including General Motors, Coca-Cola, Home Depot, United Parcel Service, and Campbell Soup said they would not be returning. While it's true that major marketing decisions are made far in advance, the timing of the marketers' decisions appears suspect. As recently as May 12, CBS and G.M. announced an expansion, rather than a contraction, of GM's …

Shopping-cart advertising is about to take a giant leap into the 21st century. A team of researchers and engineers have developed a new shopping-cart ad system that runs digital ads and promotions on high-resolution video monitors equipped with on-screen store navigation systems. Mediacart can deliver point-of-decision advertising, and is about to be tested in the Northeast. "We started from a shopper perspective, because if you don't provide a tool the shopper will want or demand, then you don't have a technology tool anyone will want," says Jon Kramer, CMO of Mediacart. The company's research revealed that 87 percent of the …

Everyone has heard stories about people finding romance at the laundromat. Now appliance marketer Whirlpool is taking the concept into their event-marketing strategy. The company is hosting "Spin Cycle" events where adult singles can meet, mingle and have fun while playing laundry-themed games that earn them Whirlpool prizes. The first of four Whirlpool Spin Cycle events kicks off in Atlanta Sept. 7 at the brand's Insperience Studio, a showroom featuring Whirlpool appliances. Others will hit restaurants, lounges and unique locations in Minneapolis and Charlotte, NC, before the cycle ends Oct. 9 in Dallas. Each event is geared toward reaching second-time …

Emerging media platforms like blogs and public forums are becoming increasingly attractive to marketers seeking new ways to reach their audience. But new research shows that consumers are skeptical of such venues. A report from Jupiter Research revealed that only 21 percent of consumers trust product information within such media when considering a purchase. Conversely, consumers are twice as likely to trust information on a corporate Web site or a professional review site, such as Edmunds.com. Still, marketers appear more than willing to take the chance; about 20 percent of advertisers surveyed indicated they planned to use viral marketing next …

Apparel marketer Levi's is venturing into the brave new world of interactive marketing with a new ad campaign that features consumers as star performers. The effort employs new imaging technology, in which users can upload headshots of themselves on a computer and then receive a copy of a Levi's commercial. In it, they appear as a daring jeans thief. The marketer is hoping the campaign will become viral as participants share their personalized commercials via e-mail, instant messages, blogs and video sites. Levi's chose online media as the best means of reaching a younger demographic "in a fun and engaging …