The U.S. Surgeon General wants to see the end of alcohol advertising in college publications and sponsored college events, along with a voluntary cutback on billboards. The Surgeon General has also asked the entertainment and media industries not to glamorize underage alcohol use in films and on TV. A new report made no call for additional legislation, instead proposing expanded educational initiatives at the community level. "Research shows that young people who start drinking before the age of 15 are five times more likely to have alcohol-related problems later in life," says acting surgeon general Kenneth Moritsugu, in …

Univision has long dominated the three Spanish-language broadcast networks, with Telemundo and Telefutura left fighting for distant second-place status in a battle that Telemundo has been winning. And while that is still the case, Telefutura is showing some new strength. During the February sweeps, the younger-skewing sister network of Univision managed to squeak ahead of Telemundo among two demographics, Hispanic adults 18-34 and Hispanic men 18-49. In addition, Telefutura had its best February ever among Hispanic households and 18-34s, while Telemundo fell from last year, when it carried the Winter Olympics. Part of Telefutura's jump can be credited …

Porsche Cars North America will review its creative and media accounts and end up bundling them, according to one exec, who adds that he expects to pick a consultant to help with the agency search in the next two weeks, hoping to complete by the end of July. Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis, which snared the automaker's creative account in 1999, has been invited to defend, says Porsche vice president-marketing, David Pryor, who also declines comment on whether media incumbent Kastner & Partners, Los Angeles, was invited: "We will discuss the inclusion of our other partners with our consultant." …

Ray-Ban, the sunglasses brand, has launched a spring/summer global marketing campaign tagged "Never Hide." Milan-based Luxottica Group acquired Ray-Ban in 1999 and has since focused on cleaning up distribution and product quality. And the brand has seen double-digit growth in the past four years in a market rife with competition from fashion labels like Dior and Gucci. The campaign is based on a 90-second film, to be shown on the Internet at Ray-Ban.com and in Times Square, along with print and outdoor. Through early next week, 12 screens in Times Square will project images of people wearing Ray-Bans, …

Two-thirds of American households still have analog television sets that are scheduled to become extinct in about two years. All full-powered TV signals are mandated by Congress to be entirely digital by Feb 17, 2009. Of course, for those that have cable or satellite service, their converter box will change the digital signals to analog, so they can still be viewed. But for the 15% of households that rely on over-the-air broadcast signals, their sets will go dark, unless they have bought a new digital set or a digital-to-analog converter box. The date was picked because it will …

Adidas has rolled out a global TV campaign focused on sports figures who discuss how they overcame adversity. The spots, from Omnicom Group's 180 in Amsterdam, continues the company's "Impossible is nothing" tagline, first used in 2004. Twenty-one ads feature athletes like David Beckham, the English soccer player, American basketball star Gilbert Arenas, and Jonah Lomu, a rugby player from New Zealand. Filming was done in places including Shanghai, Madrid and Sao Paulo. "We interviewed athletes, and then we wanted to tell their stories in the most personal way that would bring out the emotion of what they …

PBS is taking a minority stake in V-me, a Spanish-language digital cable network, extending its reach into the Hispanic media market. Merchant bankers Baeza Group are lead investors in the net, which launched Monday, and additional seed money is coming from venture capital firm Syncom Funds. Programming on the 24-hour channel is in four genres: kids, lifestyle, factual, and movies/specials but a heavy emphasis is placed on educational content. According to V-me President Carmen Direnzo, that commitment helped convince PBS to invest. "It's an extension of the PBS mission to use media to engage and educate as well …

Best Buy has invited four agencies to compete for about $200 million in advertising business, including Crispin, Porter + Bogusky in Miami, Fallon in Minneapolis, GSD&M in Austin, Texas, and TBWAChiatDay in Playa del Rey, Calif. The winner will get responsibility for account planning, strategy and execution of the electronics retailer's brand advertising, as well as media planning and consumer connection. The review covers just the Best Buy brand and will not affect other agency relationships, including media buying, currently handled by Publicis Groupe's Starcom in Chicago. Best Buy works with several agencies on different pieces …

Four big radio companies have agreed to pay the government $12.5 million and provide 8,400 half-hour segments of free airtime for independent record labels and local artists in agreements aimed at curbing the practice known as "payola," according to insiders. Payola means radio stations take cash or other considerations from record companies to play their music. It's been around as long as the radio industry, but two officials at the Federal Communications Commission say the monetary settlement is part of a consent decree between it and Clear Channel Communications Inc., CBS Radio, Entercom Communications Corp. and Citadel Broadcasting …

The rich are indeed different in many ways, one of them being what they like to watch on TV. Among the favorites of the well-heeled set are ABC's "Saturday Night Football" and "What About Brian," along with NBC's "Friday Night" and "30 Rock." All four shows rank in the top 15 among affluent viewers, while none are higher than 80th among general households, according to a Magna Global analysis of Nielsen Media Research ratings. While a couple shows matched with the general viewing public's favorites -- including "Desperate Housewives," most were different. The skew is also seen …