Eager to reach a captive audience of free-spending, affluent kids, major companies are now reaching into summer camps to promote new products. Forever Wild, a New York company that started out producing concerts and other summer camp events, is one of the few companies to market products directly to kids away at camp.

In one of the largest deals ever in the athletic footwear and apparel marketplace, Adidas-Salomon today said it would buy Reebok for $3.8 billion. Recent Reebok ads from independent New York agency mcgarrybowen have generated some controversy, most notably a commercial featuring rapper 50 Cent, who discusses being shot.

Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin was bullish on advertising revenues as he addressed investors during yesterday's second-quarter earnings call. He also raised the year-end subscriber goal from 2.7 million to 3 million and said that by year's end there will be more than 9 million subscribers to satellite radio total. Last week during its second-quarter earnings call XM increased its year-end subscriber projection from 5.5 million to 6 million.

Two top executives at Inc. and Fast Company have resigned from their posts. Matt Barba, publisher of Fast Company, and Lee Jones, vp, publisher of Inc., both turned down offers from Mansueto Ventures to stay with the company. Mansueto, headed by founder and CEO Joe Mansueto, acquired the titles from G+J USA Publishing last month for $35 million.

The pharmaceutical industry unveiled new guidelines Tuesday for the consumer marketing of medicines, including pledges to educate doctors before beginning consumer campaigns and more clearly outline the risks involved in taking prescription drugs. Drug advertising has been exploding. Last year, the industry spent $4.02 billion on advertising, up 23 percent from 2003 and 62 percent from 2000, according to the consulting firm IMS Health.

The long search for a new leader for Grey Worldwide is finally ending as the front-runner has resigned his senior posts at a rival agency. James R. Heekin quit yesterday as the chairman and chief executive of Euro RSCG Worldwide in New York, the largest agency unit of Havas, the world's No. 6 agency company. Mr. Heekin has been in contract talks for several weeks with Sir Martin Sorrell, the chief executive of the WPP Group, the No. 2 agency company, to become the chairman and chief executive of Grey Worldwide in New York, part of the Grey Global Group …

The exit of News Corp. heir apparent Lachlan Murdoch amid a swirl of controversy is not nearly as troubling as some of the timely, critical issues it raises about future leadership of media companies that are now at the beginning of the new digital epoch.

In lamenting another failed romantic relationship, a Woody Allen character once referred to the neurotic woman in question, saying, "You always think you'll be the one who changes them." Sometimes that reflection is at the root of short-lived agency-client relationships. Just ask the multitudinous agencies that have filled Coke's dance card in the last five years. This past month, two shops that paired with notoriously fickle clients saw those relationships end during what should have been the honeymoon phase.

The Pharmaceutical Research Manufacturers of America releases its voluntary code of conduct for the $4 billion direct-to-consumer advertising industry this afternoon, calling for a better presentation of risk information and Food and Drug Administration pre-approval of all advertising, but falling well short of a mandate on the most serious issues.

Comcast Corp. on Tuesday said it was unlikely to take on Walt Disney Co.'s top-rated cable sports network ESPN as a competitor.