Campaign advertising will no longer be the province of television stations if newspaper owners have their way.

Abercrombie & Fitch, the apparel retailer, said yesterday that it would no longer publish its provocative quarterly magazine, which included photographs of nude and nearly nude young models.

From Michael Jordan to Shakira, Tiger Woods to Catherine Zeta-Jones - companies have always paid big bucks for a famous face to be associated with their products. That's about to change.

The marketing of gummy snacks has intensified, making the treats even more appealing to the highly receptive consumers, as companies continue to produce more multiflavored shapes in the form of characters licensed from popular toys and hit children's television shows and movies.

Marketers on Santa's naughty list for using overtly sexual selling tactics to target teens for the holidays are trying to get onto the nice list - and consumer shopping lists - by curbing their racy messages.

Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, plans to begin providing TiVo-like video recording features directly to its cable TV subscribers by year's end.

The ABC television network is making its biggest branded-entertainment deal to date, signing Sears, Roebuck & Company as the centerpiece sponsor of a reality series, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." The deal, estimated to be costing Sears more than $1 million, includes the placement of products like Craftsman tools, Kenmore appliances and Lands' End home furnishings in each of the six episodes.

The recession may not be over for all Americans, but it's largely over for TV networks. After three years in which the sour economy sliced revenues for at least some of the big players, all but one of the largest networks posted gains.

The question haunting Madison Avenue these days is, to paraphrase Sigmund Freud, "What do consumers want?" As changes in demographics and lifestyles accelerate, consumer behavior is becoming increasingly difficult to predict. More people are surfing the Web, fewer are watching the tube. And a many are becoming more skeptical toward advertising in general.