Lodging giant Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide says that CEO Steve Heyer has resigned after losing the confidence of the company's board. The move to oust Heyer, 54, came after a weekend board meeting that focused more on the executive's personality than his performance. People close to the situation say Starwood plans to move forward with many of Heyer's initiatives. Heyer, who had a year and a half remaining on his employment contract, was brought in to run Starwood two and a half years ago. The shakeup was unexpected. During his tenure, Heyer relied heavily on …

Attempts to battle advertising clutter are resulting in a counterproductive result: more clutter. This bitter irony is bound to have dire consequences for a business already struggling with questions of relevance and effectiveness. The clichéd mission statement of "cutting through the clutter" has really yielded an industry that shotgun blasts commercial messages into sexy new places as quick as it can identify them, from emerging digital platforms to dry-cleaning bags. And TV commercial pods are fatter than they've ever been. One reason why there isn't a clear, unified way of figuring out how to reduce clutter …

Frank and Ed--the folksy duo who helped popularize Bartles & Jaymes Wine Coolers in the Eighties--will be stepping off the porch and back into the marketing fray. Auditions to replace the first Frank (played by David Rufkhar, who died in 1996) and Ed (Dick Maugg) are now being held. Blair Owens, manager at Bartles & Jaymes parent company Ernest & Julio Gallo, says the new Frank and Ed will be placed in "fish out of water situations where you wouldn't expect to see them." The two will appear at media-centric red carpet happenings such as movie premieres and …

Clay Jackson, a 6-foot-6, 33-year-old real estate salesman in Richmond, Va., will be introduced today as the new Maytag repairman. Unlike his three predecessors--Jesse White, 1967-88; Gordon Jump, 1989-2003; and Hardy Rawls, 2003-2007--Jackson is not an experienced actor. When Rawls's contract expired, Maytag decided to expand the auditions for a replacement beyond professional actors. There were live auditions in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York open to pros and amateurs alike. The process was chronicled on nextmaytagrepairman.com. Jackson will be featured in TV, radio, print and online ads and will make more than 100 public appearances each …