John Wren, CEO of Omnicom Group, has been named Ad Age's "Agency Executive of the Year." One reason: he can make "a turbulent industry seem downright calm," showing in 2006 that the holding-company model can work for more than just getting agency owners pay-outs. Omnicom's stock price is way up; it has successfully retained clients like Dell and Visa. The trade magazine singles out Wren's continued strides in "preparing a company that began 20 years ago as the merger of three elite ad agencies for what is essentially a non-advertising future." The company already gets more …

When asked what they do when they see commercials, more than half of children aged 6-11 say they watch them, but few are interested in spots about new products or those that use sarcasm, according to a recently released 2006 American Kids Study. The element that appeals most to kids in ads is humor, but it needs to be the right kind. When asked, "What do you really like to hear or see in advertising," 74.7% of the respondents agreed with "Funny things, like a funny animal or character" and 44.2% chose "silly humor." But only 18.7% cited …

Sinclair Broadcast Group may yank 30 stations off of Comcast due to an ongoing battle over retransmission consent--and that would leave 3 million customers without their broadcast signal. Sinclair's carriage deal with Comcast is up Feb. 5, and it is demanding cash from the cable operator to carry its stations in 23 markets. But Comcast is refusing to pony up and says Sinclair is the only broadcaster with which it can't cut a deal. But many of its stations can't go black at that point; a federal law says no in-market station can be pulled from cable during …

As 2006 came to a close, there seemed a sense of dread among some media buyers about just how healthy the media economy would be in the new year. In one survey of its readers, Media Life found that only 30% felt that ad spending would be up from 2006. But only a few days into 2007, the mood seems to be picking up, with a new sense that the media economy will improve. Many buyers now think spending will rise over 2006 levels--a tough act to follow with its heavy political campaign and Olympic spending. …

For a football fan, the NFL Network might sound like a dream come true, with its "all football, all the time" format. But football fans in many cable markets can't buy the NFL Network separately from expanded-basic cable. The league is trying an end run around sports tiers to get in every cable-subscribing home, whether they are wanted or not. The NFL will not allow cable operators to launch the NFL Network on anything but the most highly penetrated program tier--analog basic cable --a technical and financial challenge for operators. Still, consumers clearly want a model more like …

Liquor giant Beam Global Spirits & Wine has named an 18-year Wrigley executive as its chief marketing officer. In his new job, Rory Finlay will take over global marketing strategy for the company's stable of top-shelf tipples, that include Jim Beam and Maker's Mark bourbons, Courvoisier cognac, Starbucks coffee liqueur and Sauza tequila. Beam laid out about $20 million in U.S. ad spending in 2005--and $12 million more through the first 10 months of 2006--according to data from Nielsen Monitor-Plus. "With the expansion of our portfolio of premium brands, Beam is on its way to becoming a brand-led …

Super Bowl XLI is a month away, and while real sports fans fret over which teams will get to Miami, the advertising hoopla associated with the big game is already underway. According to some media buyers, CBS is asking for even more than the record $2.5 million ABC charged last year for a 30-second spot. "I'm hearing that ads are being sold for more than last year," says Bill Carroll, vice president and director of programming with Katz Television Group. "It's not going to be a dramatic increase, but informally, people from advertising agencies as well as CBS …

Shipper UPS intends to spend about $35 million behind a new campaign in its biggest push since "What Can Brown Do For You" five years ago. The new effort, which includes TV, newspaper, magazine and online, starts Saturday, says Larry Bloomenkranz, vice president for brand management, advertising and sponsorships for the company. "This is a tough business, very competitive," he says. "We're always trying to make our brand more relevant, more appealing than the other guy's." While the company has its 100th anniversary this year, the new ad campaign is not connected to that milestone. The …

As part of a mission to expand its already-hefty presence in the U.S. market, Toyota North America has reorganized corporate advertising duties and created two new positions. The move, which comes shortly after the Japanese carmaker passed DaimlerChrysler to nab the No. 3 slot here, is part of a global mantra of "kaizen," continuous improvement. Steve Sturm takes the post of group vice president-strategic research, planning and corporate communications and will be responsible for corporate advertising, marketing communications, media, corporate strategy and planning, along with strategic and image research. Sturm says that key to his new …

A handful of diet pill shills have been hit by the Federal Trade Commission with million-dollar fines for making false claims that range from guaranteeing rapid weight loss to reducing the risk of cancer. While FTC Commissioner Deborah Platt Majoras says the products can remain on store shelves, the companies behind them have to stop making false claims. "What we challenge is the marketing of the claims," she says. "The marketers are required to back up the claims with the science and if they can't do that, they can't make the claim." Fines were imposed on …