Electronics retailer Best Buy has signed on BBDO, New York, to handle its $170 million to $200 million account. The shop topped out GSD&M and Crispin, Porter & Bogusky in a review. However, Crispin, already the agency for Best Buy's Geek Squad, will pick up some additional work in business development and in-store "activation opportunities." For years, Best Buy worked with a large in-house creative department. The 150 people at Best Buy Advertising will continue working on newspaper inserts, Hispanic advertising and loyalty marketing. "We believe this partnership with BBDO New York will enable us to support …

Kevin Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, praises new legislation that would slap broadcast "indecency" standards onto cable programming while forcing operators to offer a la carte services. Backers of the Family and Consumer Choice Act of 2007 claim the law is necessary to help parents control what their kids watch. "In today's culture, parents are increasingly worried that their children are exposed to obscene, indecent and violent programming," said Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill. "While there is no doubt that parents are the first line of defense in protecting their kids, clearly they need more help." …

Group M and NBC Universal have inked an upfront deal worth between $800 million and $1 billion, according to insiders -- and it includes all NBC dayparts, cable channels and Spanish-language network Telemundo. It was done with very specific strategies using Nielsen's new live-plus three commercial ratings. While CPMs were not revealed, media buyers have said that NBC was looking for 10% to 12% increases, ABC wants 12% and Fox 14%. Going to NBC first seems a wise move, as it is the weakest net, due to ratings declines. By starting with NBC, media buyers may be hoping …

The kids section of The Washington Post decide to find out how well an ad for Cocoa Krispies cereal worked on its targets, so it lined up a focus group of local fourth-graders and sixth-graders. They were shown the spot and asked to write what they thought the idea was, along with what they liked and disliked about it. The kids got the message of the ad, that the stuff tastes great and most thought it was pretty cool. But they also noticed information that wasn't there, and everyone felt there should have been some talk about nutrition. …

NBC's broadcast of the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing next year may suffer from a growing backlash against China's ties to the government of Sudan. Actress Mia Farrow, who also acts as the as Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, has been calling them "Genocide Olympics," due to the carnage in Darfur. China is a big investor in Sudan's oil industry and has done little if anything to stop the violence in Darfur. Farrow has urged people to contact sponsors of the Olympics and ask them to withhold support of the games until there is a peaceful resolution. During …

Suburban Newspapers of America and 10 community newspaper chains are joining forces to put together a national advertising network. Set to launch in August, the effort is aimed at making it easier for national advertisers to do business with multiple suburban and community newspapers and all SNA members are invited to join. "Right now, our segment of the newspaper industry is somewhat fragmented and complicated to buy," explains Susan Karol, executive director of SNA. "The network will remove that barrier and open up a new option for national advertisers looking for an alternative to metro newspapers." The …

New ads for the 2008 Ford Focus may not be run by JWT, the auto company's primary agency. According to insiders, the company is talking to at least two other shops for the business. The Focus, due out this fall, offers new "Sync" technology -- a voice-activated option that controls text messaging, music and other features. While JWT will bid for the account, Ford is looking for some competition. "It's similar to what Toyota does with Saatchi," says one insider. "This is not leaving JWT." Toyota occasionally goes with agencies other than Saatchi & Saatchi, its primary shop. …

Even with the year off to a slow start, things could get worse as ad spending in 2007 could be the weakest since the recession of 2001. TNS Media Intelligence predicts that U.S. ad expenditures will be up only 1.7% to $152.3 billion this year, down from a previous view of a 2.6% rise. "Take two aspirin and wait for 2008," says Jon Swallen, senior vice president and director of research at TNS. He and other prognosticators had already seen a drop in growth compared to 2006 with its heavy Olympics and election spending. But TNS still took down …

Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney is stepping up an aggressive early ad push in his quest for the nomination--and it looks to be helping him move up in the field. Romney has forked over about $4 million for TV ads since February, mostly in early-voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire. And he bumped his spend up a lot last month with more than $2 million, largely on national cable advertisements. The former Massachusetts governor has also added a raft of TV spots in South Carolina. Few, if any, of his rivals have even bought time yet. But Romney …

The Media Access Project and the Institute for Public Representation, working for the United Church of Christ and Media Alliance, are urging the Federal Communications Commission to deny Tribune Co.'s request to be allowed to continue to own both newspapers and broadcast outlets in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, South Florida and Hartford, Conn. The waiver requests were prompted by the company's plan to go private by the end of this year, and a change of ownership would nix the grandfathered exemptions it had to cross-ownership rules. So Tribune wants temporary exemptions pending completion of possible revisions to the FCC …