• Airline Offers Free Snacks, Sponsor Grabs Check
    For a few weeks this summer US Airways has been giving passengers free boxed snacks on its shuttle flights from Boston's Logan International Airport. A sponsor who paid to print a commercial message on the box covered the charge. Ryan D. Matway, who founded Air Advertainment LLC, based in West Palm Beach, Fla., developed the ads-for-snacks concept. So far, the agency has conducted one snack-box advertising campaign at a time; in July, it launched a promotion for the New York-based online luxury retailer Gilt Groupe, a members-only shopping service.
  • Hyundai Ad Banned In Netherlands?
    Hyundai's Veloster isn't in the U.S. just yet, but some buzz is already arriving in the form of an advertisement for the car, apparently banned in the Netherlands. The ad dramatizes the virtues of a three-door configuration (two doors on one side accessible by passengers and one door on the other accessible by driver). The ad has death himself, complete with black cape and scythe, more than willing to help a young lady out of the Veloster on a busy road at night. The head office banned the spot, but expert opinion suggests the automaker let the ad live online …
  • Cheney Opposed The GM Bailout
    Former Vice President Dick Cheney did not want to save General Motors and Chrysler and tried to convince former President George W. Bush not to approve a bailout. Bush did approve a $17.4 billion rescue package for GM and Chrysler plus $7.5 billion for Chrysler Financial and GMAC.
  • Gallup's Half-Full, Half-Empty News For PR And Ad Business
    Gallup's annual poll of which industries Americans love and hate put advertising and PR at No. 10 in the list of least-liked industries. But PR beat drug companies, airlines, banks, healthcare, real estate agents, and the federal government. Americans' opinion of the TV business is higher than their take on utility companies, but lower than accountants, farmers, or anyone in the sports industry.
  • Banana Republic Hits Paris
    Banana Republic will open a 16,000-square-foot Champs Elysée flagship in December. Parent company Gap, Inc., which operated its eponymous stores in France since 1993 now has some 40 such stores there. But the company opened the first Banana Republic in Europe -- in Milan, Italy -- in 2010, the same year it started selling apparel and accessories on a dedicated European Banana Republic e-commerce site.
  • Boston Market Polishing The China In L.A. Restaurants
    Boston Market's Los Angeles-area restaurants will benefit from the company's America's Kitchen Table program. The restaurants will have more attentive staff in new uniforms, and tables will be set with real plates and stainless silverware. The first re-vamped Boston Market restaurant was unveiled last year in West Palm Beach, Fla. The company says since then it has seen a double-digit increase in guest counts and sales at the over 440 updated restaurants.
  • Online Code Of Conduct Has Launched
    Online advertisers have launched a "Code of Conduct" in hopes that Congress will let the industry police itself and Internet users will feel less threatened. The code, created by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, emphasizes education, transparency and consumer empowerment. It requires members, including Google, MTV and the New York Times to allow consumers to dictate how their data is collected and to be vigilant about ensuring that the data they collect remains safe and anonymous. The visible change will iniclude a small blue triangle and an "Ad Choices" or "About our Ads" link at the bottom of websites.
  • American Airlines Channels Pan Am's China Clipper-Style Service For High-End Fliers
    One might say airline seating is a linear metaphor for the end of the middle class and advent of a U.S. caste system, with the growing gap between coach and first class. American Airlines' latest perk: hotel-style luxuries like pajamas and slippers to first- and business-class passengers on some international flights. Starting next month business-class travelers from the U.S. to London Heathrow will get amenities like a quilted bed topper, pajamas and slippers, lightweight day blanket, duvet, pillow, and an amenity kit with Dermalogica skincare products.
  • Starwood's Luxury Collection Updates Ads
    A new print and online campaign for Luxury Collection hotels uses a tagline developed by the brand's former agency, Atmosphere BBDO, now Atmosphere Proximity: "Life is a collection of experiences. Let us be your guide." It uses still-life vignettes of a credenza surrounded by framed photos of Luxury Collection hotels and topped with travel souvenirs. Paul James, global brand leader for the group of 79 hotels, of which Starwood manages 41 and owns 10, said the company "has not seen any immediate change in demand" in the wake of the stock market's recent gyrations.
  • Whole Foods Gets Its Ramadan On
    Whole Foods was well stocked for August, which for Muslims is/was Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. One brand with shelf space at the chain, Saffron Road Foods, is doing its first promotion co-produced at about 90% of Whole Foods markets nationwide. Saffron Road and Whole Foods are reaching out to U.S. Muslims through national and regional programs via blogs, contests, product giveaways, and charitable donations. Saffron Road began with Halal food expert, Yvonne Maffei of the blog "My Halal Kitchen." She wrote "Preparing for Ramadan" for Whole Foods' blog in late July, and people who …
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