An event called the "Ford Big Drive House Party" is recruiting Ford owners to invite friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers into their homes this weekend to talk up their cars. Conducted by a marketing services company itself named House Party, the event is indicative of the growing interest among major advertisers in reaching consumers in ways that tangibly bring brands to life. Ford has become interested enough in such approaches that it has an executive whose title is experiential marketing manager. "It's making sure you're truly connecting consumers with the product," says the executive, Connie Fontaine, "from physically to …

HarperCollins Publishers is launching a book imprint that will generously share its profit with writers and focus much of its sales efforts on the Internet, where a growing portion of book sales are shifting. But it will pay little or no advances to authors, won't accept returns from retailers, and likely won't pay for more desirable display space in the front of bookstores. Veteran publishing executive Robert S. Miller, who is stepping down as president of Disney's Hyperion book publishing arm, will head the imprint. The venture is expected to publish about 25 titles a year, emphasizing shorter hardcover …

One out of every five glasses of vino drunk in America is a Gallo wine. As the company turns 75 this year amid public and private festivities, outsiders say that the Gallo family has gained a measure of peace from the tensions and tragedies that have chased it through the years. And as successive generations take over running the business--15 family members work for the company--it's clear they plan to compete worldwide. Gallo brands are sold in 90 countries, including much of Europe, and the company brings foreign wine to the U.S.: Malbec from the mountains of Argentina, …

Even as Warner Music, Sony BMG, and Universal Music cut a deal with MySpace for online music downloading yesterday, record labels are looking at other ways to profit online. They are trying to make money off of advertising, promotions, and the sales of items such as concert tickets and T-shirts that they used to leave to others. Take Imeem. The social-networking site, with about 20 million users, streams music for free on its ad-supported pages. It then shares the advertising revenue with the labels, based on what songs people are listening to. Imeem CEO Dalton Caldwell says the …

Ten years after its merger, the behemoth formed by the union of Citicorp and Travelers seems to lumber from one crisis to another. Even within Citigroup, many have rejected Sanford Weill's grand vision of a globe-spanning financial supermarket--an agglomeration of investment and commercial banking, insurance and fund management that could prosper in both good times and bad. Bloated costs, outmoded technology and political infighting have hobbled the giant company. Now run by newly minted CEO Vikram S. Pandit, it has even abandoned its famous Weill-era Travelers logo, the red umbrella, in favor of an emblematic red arc. "I cannot …

Legislation that would turn tobacco regulation over to the Food and Drug Administration and ban the use of color and imagery in most tobacco advertising sailed through a House committee today on a 38 to 12 vote. Ad groups warn that curbs are unconstitutional, but the argument went unheeded as the Energy and Commerce Committee sent the legislation to the House floor, where its co-sponsorship by more than 200 members seems to assure its passage. A Senate committee has already approved similar legislation and a floor vote is expected this spring. The House legislation in effect switches the federal …

Alberto Culver's St. Ives is positioning its Elements apricot scrub and cleansers as part of an overall approach to living a better life in its "Get a happy face" campaign launching this week. Because women increasingly go online to research and discuss beauty products, the campaign leans on the Web to reach its target. Companies usually equate signs of growing older--like wrinkles--with the loss of beauty, says Jason Zada, executive creative director of EVB, San Francisco, which created the campaign. Even a well-lauded effort, such as Dove's "Real Beauty" campaign, has negative overtones, he maintains. "Everything in this …