MSNBC
American sneaker manufacturer Nike wants to replace Adidas as the main sponsor of the German national team starting in 2011. Germany's players have been wearing the shoes of what is considered one of the country's leading brands since 1954. Negotiations between Germany's Soccer Federation and Adidas stalled after Nike offered nearly $63 million annually versus Adidas' existing contract that amounts to $14 million annually. Adidas has yet to offer a counter bid. Oddly enough, German soccer fans don't seem to care much about the old ties. According to a survey released by the German Soccer Federation, 77% of …
Chicago Tribune
Kraft Foods is turning a vacant museum on Chicago's North Michigan Avenue into a pizza parlor for three days to generate buzz about its new DiGiorno Ultimate frozen pizza. The pizzaria will be open from March 9-11, as part of an effort to convince consumers that the frozen fare tastes as fresh as home-delivered. The publicity generated by the stunt "gives the product introduction a sense of bigness," says John Boswell, senior vice president and general manager for Kraft's pizza unit. Consumer-products companies are catching on to the "pop-up store" concept after the retail industry tried them …
Promo
A mobile tour from May to September will bring s'mores made with Hershey's chocolate bars and two Kraft brands--Honey Maid graham crackers and Jet-Puffed marshmallows--to consumers across the country. A joint promotional campaign by the two companies--featuring in-store merchandising and on-pack cross-promotion--breaks in April. National TV breaks at the end of May. An FSI and an ad in Kraft's food & family magazine contribute to the campaign. A dedicated Web site, SmoresFun.com also supports the effort. Hershey used the same URL for its own s'mores campaign last year, awarding a grand-prize "backyard s'mores package," including camping …
USA Today/AP
In an off-the-cuff remark while visiting the Imperial College London Diabetes Center in the United Arab Emirates, Britain's Prince Charles suggested that banning McDonald's fast food was crucial for improving people's diets. "Have you got anywhere with McDonald's? Have you tried getting it banned? That's the key," Charles was quoted as asking one of the center's nutritionists. A McDonald' spokesman, Nick Hindle, calls the remark disappointing. He says other members of the royal family "have probably got a more up-to-date picture of us," alluding to reports that Charles' son, Prince Harry, was spotted eating a chicken burger at …
Ad Age
The major advertising trade organizations yesterday released an eight-page letter calling Sen. Edward Kennedy's bid to have the Food and Drug Administration regulate tobacco and to impose strict curbs on tobacco advertising "unconstitutional." The Massachusetts Democrat chairs the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee, which is holding hearings the on the regulation of tobacco ads. The letter from the Association of National Advertisers, the American Advertising Federation and American Association of Advertising Agencies makes it clear that their biggest concern is that the tobacco curbs would extend to food or beverage marketers, including spirits advertisers. "Don't start …
MediaPost
For contemporaneous coverage, comments and observations of the American Association of Advertising Agencies' Media Conference & Trade Show in Las Vegas this week, periodically click on this special edition of
MediaPost Raw.
Brandweek
Exubera--an inhaled insulin product for diabetics that Pfizer forecast would produce $2 billion in annual sales -- has turned into a bust, with repeated delays and negligible sales. In its most recent investor letter, Merrill Lynch reports only 824 new prescriptions written and 1,111 total ongoing prescriptions. To put that in perspective, Pfizer has said it launched the brand with 2,300 reps touting the brand to 5,000 doctors specializing in diabetes, meaning that only one-fifth of those doctors have persuaded a single patient to stick with Exubera. Pfizer last year paid Sanofi-Aventis $1.4 billion for the device that …
Ad Age
Discovery HD Theater's "Sunrise Earth" --an hour of panoramic sunrises shot in HD from around the globe -- is looking for ways to offer marketing tie-ins to the show. Though the program is four years old, it's now turning up everywhere -- from yoga classes to real-estate open houses. The goal in April will be to draw attention to Discovery's other HD programming while attracting advertisers to Club 1080, named for 1080i HD resolution. HD viewers that join the club can sign up for insider looks at other Discovery HD programs, as well as win chances to …
The Wall Street Journal
Costco Wholesale Corp. yesterday said that it would limit full-refund returns of electronic products like televisions, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPods and cell phones to 90 days. In general, Costco allows its customers an unlimited grace period to return purchases for a full refund. In turn, Costco will extend the manufacturers' warranties on TVs and computers to two years from one. Returns of consumer electronics -- flat-panel TVs, in particular -- squeezed Costco's profit margins in its latest fiscal year. Costco has posted strong sales of the TVs, but many have been returned as customers encountered difficulty installing …
The Mercury News/AP
Procter & Gamble's Pringles brand potato chips is teaming with "American Idol" in the biggest brand promotion of its 37-year history. The effort includes special American Idol Pringles cans and contests that include a video jingles competition that can lead to tickets to the show's finale. P&G wants to heat up Pringles' 5% annual growth. It recently extended the brand of chips stacked in cans into packages with a "Select" line of flavors, such as sun-dried tomato, cinnamon sweet potato and Szechuan barbecue. Pringles joins Nestle candy and Dreyer's ice cream among the show's partners. FreemantleMedia, which co-produces …