Prescription drug ads became less memorable for consumers between this year and last, according to new figures from Nielsen IAG. Six of the most-remembered ads this year would not have made it into the top 10 last year, based on IAG's recall index. The drug ads consumers remembered best in 2007 were executions for Schering-Plough's allergy drug Nasonex, Takeda's sleeping pill Rozerem, Schering's anti-cholesterol brand Vytorin, Pfizer's anti-cholesterol brand Lipitor and its anti-smoking brand Chantix, and Sepracor's insomnia med Lunesta. But midway through 2008, all of those brands have run into controversy or economic difficulties, and some of them …

Until recently, ShotPak's home page on the Internet showed a photo of just the middle of an attractive young woman. There was no head and not much of her legs. But there was a tight, bare belly clad in low-slung blue jeans with a 50-milliliter (1.7-ounce) "Purple Hooter" pouch wedged into her front pocket. The makers call it a "party in a pouch." Critics say it's more like an alcoholic candy bar. "Who are they appealing to? This isn't the kind of thing adults drink," says Dr. Michael Brody of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. …

American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia are forming a virtual merger to closely coordinate flying between North America and Europe. How to deal with consolidation will pose a thorny policy question for the next U.S. president, who likely will have to approve this venture, as well as one proposed by United Airlines, while determining the role U.S. carriers will play in emerging global networks. Carriers that belong to the three major global marketing alliances increasingly are seeking closer ties that will allow them to form worldwide networks while sidestepping rules that limit foreign carriers to small ownership stakes in …

Michael Lynch, the head of global sponsorship management at Visa, seeks out Olympic athletes to represent the brand. The company now has deals with 15 U.S. athletes in sports such as track and field, snowboarding, BMX racing, gymnastics and swimming. It also has deals with more than 70 international athletes. Not many are as well known outside their sports as swimmer Michael Phelps, who signed with Visa early in 2002. Some, like BMX racer Bubba Harris didn't even make it to the Games. Lynch says while medals are great, the financial institutions linked to Visa began using the stories …

murketing n. A form or marketing where the product or service is not mentioned or shown. [Blend of murky and marketing.] "Murketing is a vague form of marketing -- the message isn't clearly spelled out, and the ad seems to bear little relation to the product," writes Kevin Courtney in The Irish Times. Pabst's Neal Stewart, for example, understood that overt commercial messages would turn off his target audience. Thus, the company shunned celebrity endorsements -- Kid Rock had been interested -- and devoted its budget instead to sponsoring a series of unlikely gatherings across the country. Like "some kind …

A U.S. Department of Agriculture study that examines how frequently consumers use data on nutrition labels finds that dietary fiber information is the only labeling component to have seen an increase during the 10-year period between 1995-96 and 2005-06. Use of the "Nutrition Facts" panel fell 3 percentage points during the period. There was an 11% decline in use of the ingredients list, and a 10% decline for the panel's information about calories, fat, cholesterol, and sodium. The percentage decrease was greatest for health claims (17%). Use of information about sugar remained steady. Fiber, on the other hand, saw …

Chrysler says that it will spend $1.8 billion to convert a Detroit plant from producing traditional Jeep Grand Cherokees to making more fuel-efficient, car-based crossovers "of various sizes and dimensions" that represent an "evolution" of the older, gas-guzzling Jeep. Chrysler did not detail what vehicles it will produce beginning in 2010, but Thomas W. LaSorda, a Chrysler vice chairman, says it is moving aggressively to bring more fuel-efficient cars to market. He confirms Chrysler has formed a venture with Nissan Motor to source a new subcompact car from the Japanese automaker. And he says the new Dodge Journey crossover …