The M&Ms characters were voted the No. 1 icon in a nationwide on-line poll whose results were announced Monday as part of the official kickoff to "Advertising Week" in New York City.

Commercial Alert, a nonprofit organization that opposes "commercialism," announced Monday that it sent a letter to Marlene Kahan, executive director of the American Society of Magazine Editors, asking that new rules be established to require disclosure of product placement in magazines.

Even though CBS News has taken a battering in the media for using allegedly fake military documents on last week's "60 Minutes II" episode, advertisers and CBS affiliates said Wednesday they had no reason to abandon the network.

While rumors of a redesigned PlayStation 2, nicknamed "PS two," have made the rounds for some time, Sony may be ready to pull the trigger on shrinking down its system this fall. The Hollywood Reporter, evidently hearing from some of the same sources that have been dropping hints to 1UP of late, reports that Sony Computer Entertainment America may be ready to release a new version of the PS2 console on October 26, alongside Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.

First the Republican convention, now Advertising Week. Yes, starting tomorrow, New Yorkers will be immersed in what promoters are calling a "week-long celebration of advertising."

AP, September 19, 2004 Democrat John Kerry links the cost of the Iraq war to problems at home and vows in a new television ad to both "defend America and fight for the middle class."

Edward Meyer, the 77-year-old chairman of Grey Global Group, was philosophical last week when asked why he had decided to sell the company to WPP Group, one of the sprawling, publicly traded holding companies that increasingly dominate the advertising business.

Fasten your seat belts, folks; it's going to be a bumpy fall. The level of competitiveness among the top brass at the Big Four networks has been set on "ferocious," and the season only officially starts tonight, at least by Nielsen's clock.

U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain is pushing for up to $1 billion in aid to ensure consumers are not left in the dark when television stations broadcast only new, crisp digital signals, according to draft legislation obtained on Sunday.

The last big batch of commercials from Royal Philips Electronics memorably showed, among other things, a stylish couple watching a thin plasma-screen television installed on their ceiling. Having made several acquisitions since then that have bolstered its presence in a variety of areas, Philips wants consumers to see it as much more than home electronics.