Patti LaBelle's 14-city "The Gospel According to Patti" tour kicks off in Dallas on Saturday with the Aspen, Chrysler's new luxury SUV, as its title sponsor. Affluent, urban African-American customers are one of the upscale SUV's target markets. Urban mega-churches are a great way to reach a large number of people in that target audience, says Judy Smith, a partner at Impact Media, the event-promotions company that pitched the LaBelle tour to Chrysler. The churches on the LaBelle tour have as many as 30,000 members each, and boast sophisticated methods for getting messages out, including Web pages. Chrysler …

Little Debbie--the snack-food brand with 50 varieties--and NASCAR are teaming up in a promotion on LittleDebbie500.com that gives viewers a chance to win prizes if they correctly answer a question at the end of an online commercial. A viral component lets players increase their chances of winning by giving them one additional entry form for each referral. The promotion, which features 1,500 prizes, includes 500 grand prize limited-edition Little Debbie Ford diecast cars; 500 first-place prizes of Little Debbie Ford remote control cars and 500 second-place prizes of Little Debbie race packs, including a seat cushion, a Little Debbie racing …

A study being released at the National Retail Federation conference today shows that 13- to-21-year-olds influence 81 percent of their families' apparel purchases and 52 percent of car choices. In fact, the study by online marketing expert Kelly Mooney claims that Generation Y--those born from 1982 to 2000--have more clout at the cash register than any previous generation. At 82 million people, Gen Y is bigger than the baby boomer generation, and its members have spending power and strong opinions at an earlier age. Slow Web sites, dismissive sales staff and free shipping that takes more than two days …

Baby boomers--the 78 million people born between 1946 and 1964--are still coveted by marketers, even as they rapidly age out of the coveted 18-49 demo. Although they are a mass of contradictions as a group, most consultants are unanimous on one thing: The boomers thrive on change and reinvention. They did not grow up with the Internet, for example--yet they readily go online to plot out vacations and seek bargains. They have no use for nostalgia, yet they relate wonderfully to the icons of their past. Marketers say, for example, that Aleve hit a home run when it showed Leonard …

Consumer control may have been the dominant theme of the recent ANA convention, but there is also a dictatorial trend in advertising that demands that customers Just Do It (Nike), Get Out There (Royal Caribbean), Be Hospitable (Hilton), Live Richly (Citigroup) or Think Different (Apple). The industry catchphrase used to describe the phenomenon is "didactic marketing." Its primary devotees are companies with few product or service improvements to showcase, according to Thomas Ordahl, a partner at marketing and branding specialist Group 1066. "What's going on is spinning the same product attributes in a different way, he says. "If Royal …

Google's $1.65 billion deal to acquire YouTube yesterday could boost its ambitions to significantly broaden its ad-brokering activities beyond simple text ads on Web pages to larger amounts of video advertising online. The all-stock purchase marries Google's massive collection of computers, data lines and systems for serving online ads from thousands of advertisers with YouTube's leading position in playing videos for users on the Web. Critics said Google could be exposing itself to liability for copyright violations, since videos posted by users without permission of content owners are available through YouTube's site. But YouTube has been racing to …

Surging gas prices in recent years have permanently affected the way people shop, according to two new studies. So marketers need to adjust to their new buying habits, even as consumers see some price relief at the pump. A study from Yankelovich shows that 67 percent of shoppers will shop for several items at one store, instead of driving around; 66 percent make price comparisons; 64 percent do research before making a purchase; and 63 percent are waiting for sales. People are also buying fewer items, choosing products that are more durable, picking private labels over name brands and …

The first campaign from the U.S. Army's new agency, Interpublic Group's McCann Erickson, will break on Nov. 9 with the tagline "Army strong." A video presenting the campaign opens with the Webster Dictionary definition of "strong," adding, "But with all due respect to Webster, there's strong, and then there's Army strong." The campaign focuses on the desire of potential recruits to gain personal strength, both physical and otherwise. The footage in the video suggests the Army will not shy away from images of Iraq and actual warfare. Soldiers are shown marching through deserts and training in harsh environments. …

Harley-Davidson and ConAgra Foods will announce at the National Association of Convenience Stores trade show today that they are teaming up to sell beef jerky to tap into the growing meat-snack business. The product, thick slices of smoked lean steak, will sell in packs of 3.25 ounces for $5.99 at convenience and grocery stores, Harley-Davidson dealerships and truck stops. Shipments of the three varieties--teriyaki, pepper and original flavor--will begin Jan. 8, according to ConAgra. Harley has considered making edible products in the past, but nothing fit with the brand and its image like jerky, says Tom Parsons, general manager …

Burger King has signed rapper and entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs to a multiyear deal as brand ambassador to star in an upcoming ad campaign and launch a co-branded channel on YouTube.com called DiddyTV. The interactive channel features a personal video message from Combs and clips from his first solo collection in five years, "Press Play," which will hit store shelves on Oct. 17. Burger King will also sponsor Combs' upcoming cross-country tour to promote "Press Play" and will be represented at events and appearances. In a statement, Burger King's Russ Klein, president of the company's global marketing, strategy and …