Macy's wants win over Marshall Field's loyalists, and is willing to do so one at a time. When Federated Department Stores bought May Co. and said it would convert its brands to Macy's, it knew there would be fallout, but the backlash has proved really strong for Field's fans--particularly in Chicago, where some have launched an effort to boycott Macy's and to force Federated to bring back the Field's name. But Macy's is looking to lure them back with private luxury shopping events that tout high-end designers, along with double points from a loyalty-card program. In a 63-store region around …

ABC has pulled the plug on both "Day Break" and "Show Me the Money," a pair of low-rated series that have been airing back-to-back on Wednesday. And the failure of "Day Break," a crime show starring Taye Diggs, messed up the net's plan to fill a slot vacated by "Lost" when that show went on hiatus after just six airings. ABC says that repeats of comedies "George Lopez" and "According to Jim" will air in the slot that "Day Break" briefly held. That show, which premiered Nov. 15, attracted fewer than 4.5 million viewers last week for a ranking of …

The new model for newspapers could be a big departure from the one-size-fits-all, one edition per day, that is now standard practice. Instead, it could be a fully customized newspaper with a version for every possible need, in whatever format a reader might want. One new format is the PDF, which is emailed. While yet to catch on here, PDF editions are out in Canada, the UK and elsewhere. Publishers see real potential as the PDF is highly portable and easy to print on short notice. And at 8.5 inches x 11 inches, it fits easily into …

For the fifth straight year, ad-supported cable looks to top the broadcast nets in prime time, grabbing a 55.4% household share year-to-date, way ahead of the six broadcast nets' 40.4%, according to Nielsen Media Research data crunched by Turner chief research officer Jack Wakshlag. But if cable's dominance of prime time continued in 2006, growth appears to be easing. If the 69 measured cable channels reach a projected 55.5 share by the end of this year, that represents growth of just one-tenth of 1% over 2005. But if cable's surge over the last five years--up 15.8% …

Procter & Gamble Co. is not going to rely on cuts in marketing spending to hit aggressive profit targets, despite having cut its ad budget as a share of sales the past two fiscal years, company executives tell Wall Street analysts. At the same time, the company says that trims in ad spending don't necessarily hurt brands. According to CFO Clayton Daley, P&G's North American fabric-care business cut ad spending as a share of sales by 2% over the last five fiscal years, but saw sales jump $900 million while boosting market share and building scores for brand …

Shop at Home wants men to pick up the phone and buy things, like knives, the same way women do jewelry. The 75 million-subscriber cable shopping channel will soon target its on-air products to a male audience, eliminating items like beauty aids, says vice president of affiliate marketing Andy Caldwell. As part of a network relaunch, Jewelry Television--which purchased Shop at Home in June--will trim back the network's live content to 13 hours, with the balance to be filled with programming and merchandise from Jewelry Television. And during the live period, Caldwell says the net will push products …

There are some new charges in a lawsuit against Omnicom Group that the advertising agency holding company arranged deals to hide losses and meet Wall Street's profit expectations. Documents seem to show that the company sold its stakes in failing Internet ventures to outfits controlled by its top execs to clean up its earnings reports, according to attorneys for shareholders suing the company. The new allegations come in the suit, filed in June 2002, and charge that Omnicom created Seneca, an entity it claims was used to keep other Web investments gone sour off the books. …

Once known as much for moral rectitude as soap, Procter & Gamble is pushing farther into the world of new media with an effort asserting that men can suffer from menstrual cramps. Not long ago, it would have shied away from any discussion of women's menstrual cramps, much less sponsor a playful campaign pretending that they afflict men, too. Times have changed, and even Procter, the nation's largest advertiser, is looking to push the envelope with viral campaigns online. Big marketers seem to think they can take greater risks online because users tend to be …

Wal-Mart has again engaged consultancy Select Resources International to manage the review of its $570 million ad account and has invited the finalists from the first go-round to try again. Wal-Mart has scheduled pitches for next week, with a prompt decision expected. Wal-Mart needs to replace Interpublic Group's DraftFCB, which in October won creative chores in the first Wal-Mart review. It was bounced off the account last week and is not eligible to participate in the second review. Previous finalists included GSD&M, Ogilvy & Mather and The Martin Agency. Sources say that those three shops …

While Dave Poltrack, executive vice president and chief research officer for CBS Corp., has been telling Wall Street that a "more seller-friendly upfront market" will return this May, buyers--and some competitors--think he may be tad premature. Poltrack cites strong scatter buying at above-upfront prices in fourth quarter and the looming shift from program to commercial ratings as trends that should give the nets more leverage. But to one media buyer: "CBS seems like a fish swimming upstream. This seems to be their strategy every year at this time, to prop up their position publicly. But the scatter …