A coalition of religious groups that wants to see a "compassionate" solution to immigration problems has targeted lawmakers with a new ad campaign. Starting this week, Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform will run the newspaper and radio ads in Florida, Arizona, Kansas, Ohio and Pennsylvania for six months. "Immigration is for us a religious issue," says Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners magazine. "It's what God wants and expects. So let's fix it, but with compassion. The Bible tells us again and again about the need to care for the stranger in our midst." For Rev. Dan …

Delta Air Lines, fresh out of bankruptcy, will roll a fresh campaign to tout its "new era, introduce an updated, boldly modern corporate brand and showcase a reinvigorated customer experience." The effort, themed "Change," will encompass TV, radio, print and outdoor and Delta promises a multimillion budget in support. TV spots with Delta employees are airing on TBS and Fox Sports Network, along with local stations in New York and Atlanta. Print ads will run in newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler and The Wall Street Journal. "Every element of this campaign …

The first round of the National Basketball Association playoffs has yielded a mixed bag of broadcast and cable ratings, with the latter doing better. But it is clear that overall interest is waning. Combined broadcast and cable viewership was down 7 percent to 2.6 million viewers from 2.8 million last season. The first 26 games on ESPN and TNT have seen declines of 4 percent to 2.4 million, and the steepest drop was among men 25-54 demo, off 6 percent to a 1.5 rating. The ratings on ABC took the biggest hit, down some 11 percent to an …

Omnicom Group may relocate near a World Trade Center redevelopment in New York. About 650,000 feet of the 1.129 million square-foot building, owned by the Sapir Organization, has gone begging. Two months ago, Sapir switched from brokerage Cushman & Wakefield to CB Richard Ellis. And Omnicom has been poking around for some 300,000 feet to consolidate its offices from buildings that include a Sapir property on Madison Ave. "We've had a lot of activity recently," confirms Alex Sapir, president of the company. Although he declines to discuss any tenants or deals.

Chrysler is rolling a new ad campaign it hopes will change a widely held view that its cars look great, but don't work as well as the competition. New spots tagged "Engineered Beautifully," debut on prime-time Tuesday night. The company will push the same theme in print and online. "It's not about quality per se, it's about our products," says David Rooney, director of Chrysler's marketing and global communications. "It's not about celebrities. It's about the product being the star. Beneath the style, the exterior of the car, getting underneath that and educating people about the technologies in …

Kraft, Wal-Mart and Coca-Cola are among a handful of companies ready to halt spending in magazines without issue-by-issue circulation guarantees, writes Nat Ives. While buyers have long chafed at guarantees of only average paid circulation, MediaVest USA has received support from some top clients to make single issue guarantees a reality. "Let me be clear that I am a print champion," says Robin Steinberg, senior vice president-director of print investment and activation at MediaVest. "However, we believe that all publishers should make this guarantee, and we will walk away from business for those who don't." The agency bought some …

Radio network Westwood One has asked the investment bank UBS to look for possible buyers before putting itself up for sale next month, according to insiders. Peter Lauria and Zachery Kouwe write that Westwood is waiting for a pending content syndication deal with CBS Radio that is set for May 15 before formalizing an auction. CBS owns an 18% stake in Westwood and in April, the two signed a letter of intent to extend the syndication deal to March of 2017. Final approval is needed to boost the company's finances, which "puts it in a much better position to be …

Sears is looking back to its days as a catalog retailer by referencing a "Sears Book" in a new ad effort and rolling out specialty catalogs. Meanwhile, sister company Kmart will introduce "Mr. Blue Light," a talking light bulb, in its own marketing campaign. That character recalls the old Kmart sales gimmick, the "Blue Light Special." Sears will also deliver more than washers and dryers -- possibly furniture - from its home services unit. The new strategies were unveiled at Sears Holdings Corp.'s shareholders' meeting last week and are among several tactics the company hopes will win back shoppers …

TrimSpa, the weight-loss supplement company whose sales jumped when it signed Anna Nicole Smith as its endorser, has decided to focus on "everyday customers" instead of celebrities. Smith, whose death in February set off a cascade of breathless media coverage, signed a contract with the firm in December of 2003. Alex Goen, CEO of TrimSpa's parent company, says it paid the ex-Playmate about $500,000 a year to tout the product. The company's new ad campaign will feature the standard diet gimmick of "before and after,'' showing 200 images highlighting the weight loss of non-celebrity customers.

Renetta McCann, the CEO of Starcom MediaVest Group since 2005, has landed on a "25 Women To Watch" list published by Crain's Chicago Business. Since she took over, the agency has passed OMD Worldwide to become the largest media buyer in the world, holding an 8% share of global media planning. McCann, CCB notes, is working to maintain Starcom's top position by capturing emerging markets like India and Latin America. Meanwhile, thanks to Starcom's proprietary research on 18- to 34-year-olds in the U.S. last year, its clients have new ways to reach that coveted demo. "We found that they can …