There are lessons in micro-targeting, ROI and chutzpah here, in varying degrees. Anne Cassidy tells the tale of New York copywriter Alec Brownstein, who wanted a job at a big-time agency. So he created a Google campaign targeting five hot creatives. Every time any one of them Googled his own name, an ad popped up at the top of the page with the headline, "Hey [Personalized Name Goes Here]." The copy read: "Googling yourself is a lot of fun. Hiring me is fun, too." Brownstein got interviews with four of the five, …

Elaine Wong chats with Seattle's Best Coffee president Michelle Gass and Robson Grieve, managing director at Creature, the agency that worked on the rebranding of the Starbucks' brand announced this week. Changes include a simpler logo and the tagline "Great coffee everywhere" that are intended to create a global identity for the Seattle's Best. "We need a brand that reflects our values, and the ones I'm speaking about are fun, optimism, simplicity and mobility and also showing that with great design," says Gass. "When you see Seattle's Best Coffee and all of our marketing, you'll get …

Sprint Nextel and Wal-Mart yesterday announced that they would offer a seven-cents-per-minute prepaid calling or text message plan. It's the latest move by one of the large wireless carriers into a market that was once considered niche -- consumers who cannot afford or don't want contracts -- and it portends further price wars and a consolidation among smaller carriers, Niraj Sheth and Roger Cheng report. About 20% of Americans with a cell phone had a prepaid plan at the end of 2009, compared with 15% in 2007, according to trade group CTIA. TracFone is the largest U.S. prepaid …

When General Motors' chairman Ed Whitacre told Americans in a TV ad a few weeks ago that the company had repaid loans it received from the government, at least three Republican lawmakers expressed their dismay that GM was repaying the debt with cash raised from the U.S. Treasury's acquisition of 61% of the company, David Welch reports. But a survey shows that the ad resonated with many consumers and has helped to repair the automaker's image. YouGov, a London company that measures public perception of businesses, surveys 5,000 people daily and combines positive and negative reactions to create …

The fast-food wars are hitting a new low, Bruce Horovitz reports, with Taco Bell set to announce plans for Meal Deals that include an entree, side dish and drink for only $2. Consumers get a medium drink, Doritos chips and a choice of a Chicken Burrito, Double Decker Taco, Gordita Supreme or a 5-Layer Burrito. Competitors will be watching with interest, at the very least, and Taco Bell is expecting no less. "If we just tossed a pebble into the pond, the ripple wouldn't find its way to shore," says Taco Bell president Greg Creed. "We're throwing a …