Two agencies are ready to rumble over restaurant chain Applebee's $180 million account, according to insiders. TBWAChiatDay and McCann Erickson are set to present their ideas to the company's executives next week, and both are touting a "younger, more energetic" positioning for Applebee's. The two are the last ones standing in a four-shop review that began in March, bouncing DraftFCB off the business. That review started right after George Williams took over as chief marketing officer early this year. "We are looking for the best and brightest minds in the business to bring forward fresh, new and …

A new Procter & Gamble campaign features Beatles classic "All You Need is Love" to tout the benefits of its Luvs' Bear Hug Stretch diaper. Designed to offer a fresh approach to keep the aging brand relevant, Saatchi & Saatchi created the effort. The shop says the song will be a big part of it. "The song helps us break through the diaper advertising clutter and simply communicate to moms that Luvs diapers are 'all you need' to keep your baby happy," says Saatchi & Saatchi account manager Mark Rolland. In one spot, the tune is played …

Robert Engel, a Chicago entrepreneur, is using the Internet to battle rampant piracy of his company's BraBaby--a plastic cage that looks like a Wiffle ball and prevents bras from getting tangled in washing machines. He compares his fight to a game of Whac-A-Mole: shut down one pirate, another springs up. Many of the imposters brazenly use the name BraBaby, sometimes with a slightly different styling from the rendering Engel uses. They often appropriate Engel's logo and his promotional photos--including shots of his wife, Laura, BraBaby's creator, cradling the product. Engel says he has seen his BraBaby priced as …

Media buyers are still searching for the end of the upfront marketplace as both cable and syndication deals are still under negotiation. However, the latter seems closer to finishing up due to carryover from broadcast and the medium's willingness to accept commercial ratings. Top syndie shows are getting high-single-digit cost increases, while the rest are in low single digits in the roughly $2 billion marketplace. Cable nets are also securing high-single-digit percentage price hikes and some, like Turner and Lifetime, are close to done. But others, like MTV, are trying to get agreements that take into account their …

"Without a Trace" is having trouble finding viewers on TNT, stoking worries at cable nets about their cop show reruns. More than a year ago, TNT expressed concern about a slump for "Law & Order," which could be seen as often as 14 times a week on the network, and Steve Koonin, head of Turner Entertainment Networks, was looking for "Without a Trace" for some salvation. When running once a week in late nights from December 2004 to May 2006, the show averaged 2.2 million viewers -- but half of them were over 50. And when it …

NBC Universal is going all out with its coverage of "Live Earth," with a three-hour prime-time special Saturday night on the Peacock Network, along with 18 hours of live coverage on Bravo, seven on CNBC and more on Sundance, Universal HD, Telemundo and Mun2. It is trying hard to makes sure it doesn't repeat the mistakes of 2005's "Live 8," which drew many complaints about commercial interruptions. So NBC is working with the promoters and advertisers to cut ad time by about 50% an hour, leaving 50 minutes of program time instead of the usual 42. "We …

Fuel TV's new original show "The 808" will roll out on the action-sports network Friday night. The seven-episode "docu-series" features a Kauai surfing group called "The Wolfpak." A co-production between Redsquare TV and Fuel TV, it was filmed late last year and early this one. Fuel will also hold its first annual "Swerve Festival" in September, an event it describes as a celebration of the "West Coast creative culture," to include film and music video screenings along with live music. "For more than 30 years, the West Coast creative community has been heavily influenced by the skateboarding …

7-Eleven Inc. turned a dozen of its stores into "Kwik-E-Marts," the fictional convenience chain featured in the "The Simpsons" as part of a promotional push for a Simpsons movie due out later this month. The stores and most of the thousands of other 7-Elevens in North America will also sell items that had existed only on the show, i.e. Buzz Cola, KrustyO's cereal and Squishees. For 20th Century Fox Film, the program is a relatively cheap way to tout the movie as 7-Eleven is soaking up the cost. And the company is hoping that making fun of …

A Goldman Sachs analyst has slashed his growth forecast for the newspaper sector after indications from publishers that no relief is in sight for the industry's woes. "The magnitude of the recent declines is extraordinary for a non-recession period and provides concrete evidence, in our view, that the share shift from print to online in the publishing industry is accelerating," says Peter Appert. Among the companies most at risk are McClatchy and The New York Times Co., both rated by Goldman as "sells," due to the pure-play nature of their businesses. Among the other downers Appert points out: newspapers …

The first half of the year brought a surge of deal-making in the media and information industries, with companies consolidating and branching out to reach audiences digitally, according to investment bank Jordan, Edmiston Group. In the first six months of 2007, 399 with a value of $75.9 billion were announced -- eclipsing the $60.6 billion value of all the 637 deals last year. By contrast, in 2003, the firm recorded 301 deals valued at $16.1 billion. For the first half, 238 were in marketing services and online media, but merger activity for consumer magazines was also brisk. …