The difference between watching a commercial on a Web site and in your living room is that online, viewers are choosing to be there. Unlike commercials that run during TV programming, there's an actual market for the opt-in watching. For example, veryfunnyads.com, a broadband Web site operated by the TBS cable network, has delivered more than 63 million video clip views since its introduction last August. One reason for the increase in popularity for sites like these is the proliferation of broadband Internet connections, which make it easier for computer users to watch or download video clips. …

Metrosexuals, move over. The Macho Man is back in town. After being displaced for a time by images of the more genteel, style-conscious metrosexual, more "manly" men seem to be regaining a place in the world of marketing and media. Alltel, the No. 5 wireless carrier, has created www.officialmancave.com, an interactive animated site. The site builds on Alltel's TV ads that portray its four biggest rivals as dorky "sales guys." The T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon Wireless and AT&T characters were introduced in cable ads last year. They were used to launch Alltel's "My Circle" plan, which lets …

Moet Hennessy, the beverage arm of luxury-goods group of LVMH, is re-launching and re-branding its flagship whisky brand Glenmorangie. The whisky group has unveiled a new brand identity, aiming to capture a larger chunk of the global single malt Scotch whisky market. As part of the initiative, the group behind Scotland's leading and most iconic malt is introducing a new contemporary and stylish look, but still based on the drink's Gaelic roots, including sculpted new bottles, new packaging, a new emblem and a new product range. The whisky's new emblem, the "Signet", has been inspired by the …

Jones Soda retains a quirky, scrappy image. Yet the brand that got its start in tattoo parlors and skate shops now can be found in Panera Bread and Barnes & Noble, retail environments more likely to attract soccer moms than fans of the X Games. So how does a brand that built its fan base on a simple premise - "Run with the little guy...create some change" -- stay relevant when it has a highly publicized deal with a NFL team and is predicted to be a global company by the end of 2008? The answer, according …

Since it acquired B'Gosh, Carter's has attempted to market the Oshkosh-based clothier's products as an upscale version of its own brands. At the same time, it also sought to revitalize B'Gosh's lagging wholesale business. Carter's, which paid $312 million for the company in July 2005, was hoping to carve out a new niche for the brand. But the first six months of the Atlanta-based Carter's fiscal year has seen significant decreases in sales, closed facilities and a major devaluation of B'Gosh assets. That's led market analysts to question whether Carter's can stop B'Gosh's downward sales spiral. …

Nickelodeon is enacting a self-imposed moratorium on the licensing of its children's characters for unhealthful food products. Beginning in 2009, Nickelodeon will limit the use of its licensed characters on food packaging "to products that meet 'better for you' criteria as established by marketing partners in accordance with governmental dietary guidelines. The move comes in response to public outcry about the marketing of junk food to children. Nickelodeon's decision disclosed in a letter to several members of Congress follows the announcement last month by 11 food and beverage companies that they would change how they advertise to …

Bank of America is expanding its relationship with the National Football League by becoming the league's first "official bank of the NFL." Financial terms were not disclosed. The three-year deal expands an alliance between BofA and the NFL that includes NFL and affinity credit cards for all 32 teams and the "Extra Points" rewards program under which consumers earn points to purchase NFL merchandise. BofA plans an NFL-themed campaign to support its "official bank" status. Under terms of the deal, BofA will have the exclusive rights in the banking services category to use the NFL shield logo and other …

The deep pockets at drug companies just keep getting deeper. Ten years after a rule change allowed drug companies to advertise directly to U.S. consumers, the overall amount spent promoting medicines is 2.6 times what it was in 1996, according to a study released Aug. 15. Total spending on pharmaceutical promotion grew to $29.9 billion in 2005 from $11.4 billion in 1996, an average annual growth rate of 10.6 percent. The study, from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, also found evidence that regulators are doing less to police such ads. The group found that the …

The release of the 2008 version of the popular video game Madden NFL by Electronic Arts mirrors that of a big summer blockbuster. It's not just how the release date is turned into a huge event, but how it promotes across brands. On board for the video game campaign are huge consumer brands, such as Pepsi, Visa and Snickers. Each will contribute in their own way, ultimately giving the video game a higher level of visibility and raising its profile in the public consciousness. Also on tap are TV, print and online advertising to support the launch, …

Water filter and container makers are capitalizing on the latest green trend. Even companies that currently sell water packaged in plastic bottles are getting on the bandwagon. Companies are piggybacking on Americans' plastic-water-bottle remorse. More than 1.5 million barrels of petroleum go into the production of the 38 billion plastic water bottles Americans toss every year. Nestle, which owns such brands as Arrowhead, Poland Spring and Ice Mountain, is rolling out a lightweight bottle that uses 30% less plastic than the current model and sports a paper-saving label that is 30% smaller. The company is investigating other …