These days, cash-strapped football clubs will try anything to bring in some money. Can't afford to splash your company's logo on your favourite team's shirts? Don't worry, you can always become an 'Official Matchday Sponsor.'

Sure, there are more brands than ever. But they're taking a beating - or, even worse, being ignored. Who's to blame? A new breed of hyperinformed superconsumers. (That's right - you!)

Goodbye, Mr. Wendy. The fast-food chain's management canned the man they referred to as the brand's "unofficial spokesperson" after dismal reviews of the advertising campaign that featured him.

Advertising has been part of commerce since the first cities emerged in Mesopotamia. Some historians have said the first jingle was developed by the Catholic Church to sell indulgences. Despite people's claims to hate advertising, they also seem to remember funny campaigns. Biased as it is, ads do import information. Besides, without ad-supported TV and radio, you'd have to pay to watch Extreme Makeover. Think about it.

The New York Times has joined a list of newspapers in the New York area to receive subpoenas as part of a federal investigation that began with Newsday's circulation practices.

Newsday severed ties to a Long Island businessman after learning that one of his companies made a $30,000 payment to the paper's ousted circulation chief. The paper said it was in the midst of probing its past dealings with James Cisek when it was told of the payment to then-circulation director Robert Brennan.

The Interpublic Group of Companies had a mean case of "The Red Blues" yesterday, to borrow a song title, but it had nothing to do with the outcome of the presidential election. Rather, Interpublic, the world's third-largest agency company, reported that it had ended another quarter awash in red ink, the seventh consecutive quarter of net losses.

In a new version of product placement, the WE Women's Entertainment network will open each weekly segment of this month's Cinematherapy show in the front seat a Pontiac G6 sedan.

The News Corporation, the media company controlled by Rupert Murdoch, said yesterday that its fiscal first-quarter profit rose 27 percent, in part because advertising sales increased at its cable networks, like the Fox News Channel.

It was 2:16 on Wednesday morning when Michael Barone, an analyst for Fox News Channel, wheeled around in his chair and faced the four people charged with calling the presidential race on behalf of the network. "I just got some spin from Rove on New Mexico,'' Mr. Barone said.