Sony Corp. is looking for an agency to create a common message for the sprawling company that is infamous for its siloed business units. While each of the Sony units--including Sony Electronics, SCEA and the music and pictures divisions--aggressively market their products and services, corporate umbrella campaigns and efforts have not been a common practice. Andrew House, who was named to the newly created position of chief marketing officer in September 2005, is driving the search. Sony has already tapped Omnicom's Wolff Olins to analyze its brand globally, and sibling BBDO is said to be seeking the creative business. The …

The new breed of characters afoot in the land of brand pitchmen is sardonic, self-aware and more ironic than iconic. Perhaps the most self-aware of the upstarts, the Geico Gecko, speaks openly of his celebrity role and plainly acknowledges that his job is to get people to buy his insurance. While Mr. Clean would likely balk at identifying himself as a pitchman, the Gecko is happy to. "It just seems that this self-awareness helps lower people's barriers to your message," says Steve Bassett at the Martin Agency, which created the Gecko. Then there's Travelocity's Roaming Gnome and the mute king …

Many of the most successful interactions of word-of-mouth agents occur in-store with strangers, according to a white paper from the Keller Fay Group, a New Brunswick, N.J. research firm. "We all have that experience where you turn to the person next to you and ask: 'What do you think?'" says Jon Berry, Keller Fay senior vice president. "It has to be a two-way engagement." When approaching strangers, though, it's important that agents identify their affiliation. Other hotspots for the most active w-o-m agents included work, social gatherings, restaurants/bars, school, and during travel. The report also claims that the most …

Nickelodeon sends Dora the Explorer to produce departments in more than 1,000 supermarkets this month in a joint promotion with nonprofit Produce for Kids. The campaign extends Nick's ongoing health and wellness campaign, "Let's Just Play," and builds awareness for 4-year-old Produce for Kids' annual fall healthy-eating program. Posters, brochures, recipe booklets and floor stands feature Dora, who encourages kids to eat smarter and play harder. Kids also can sign up for Nick's Let's Just Play Go Healthy Challenge (a joint effort with the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation) and Produce for Kids' Healthy Kids Club, …

The long-time symbol of Wal-Mart's working-class roots--its humble blue smock or vest emblazoned with "How may I help you?"--may be checking out. A fancier Wal-Mart, which is trying to attract upscale shoppers with 300-thread-count sheets, flat-screen TVs and nine-layer lasagna, evidently calls for a fancier uniform. The company has begun quietly testing a new preppy look--khaki pants and a navy blue polo shirt--for its 1.3 million workers in the United States. The look of the ensemble could change, however, according to a company spokesperson. The color of the polo shirt, in particular, may be modified--perhaps to avoid any confusion with …

Thirty top marketing researchers convened at a "Research Industry Summit for Improving Respondent Cooperation" in Cincinnati last week to discuss a growing mutual concern: The unwillingness of so many consumers to participate in surveys. "Consumer Fatigue" is making it increasingly difficult and costly for the country's top marketers to get accurate data. The heads of the five leading global research companies and top research executives from the likes of Procter & Gamble, General Motors, IBM and McDonald's hashed over a problem stunning in its scope, if uncertain in its impact. Survey non-respondents tend to be disproportionately male, black, Hispanic and …

The $14.98 Starbury 1 sneakers endorsed by New York Knicks star Stephon Marbury--and sold exclusively in the Steve & Barry's University Sportswear stores--have been selling out, often before they get out of the shipping carton, according to Andy Todd, president of the deep-discount retailer. Pro-endorsed footwear typically carries a $100 to $200 price tag. Marbury will be wearing the shoes he touts when he's playing on the NBA courts this upcoming season. A poor Coney Island kid who watched people around him buy sneakers they couldn't afford, he wanted to send a message that self-esteem doesn't have to be wrapped …

ESPN's decision to end its high-profile collaboration with Sprint last week is testimony to how difficult it is to get people to change from their existing cellphone plans. Just eight months after kicking off the service with Super Bowl advertising, ESPN pulled the plug on Mobile ESPN, losing an estimated $25 million. ESPN, which now plans to license its sports content to cellphone carriers, isn't the first company to fail at the wireless game. By the time MCI bailed out of its wireless alliance with Sprint, it had racked up losses of almost $1 billion, recalls Roger Entner, a wireless …

Major League Baseball breaks a campaign today starring Los Angeles Dodger fixture Tommy Lasorda traveling to different cities wearing a tuxedo and using "tough love" to help despondent fans whose favorite teams are not in the playoffs. In Chicago, for example, he finds a Cubs fan who has climbed a tree and won't come down. Lasorda tells him even though the Cubs won't win the World Series, "It's October. You're a baseball fan. Watch the games!" The campaign also will direct people to MLB.com, which is adding "Tommy pages" that will include a blog with Lasorda and condolence cards that …