As part of its portable people meter strategy, Clear Channel's five FM stations in Houston have cut the number of commercial breaks hour down from three to two. While the company declines comment, it explained the new approach in an email to the clients and their agencies. "Effective immediately Clear Channel Houston Radio is moving from three stop sets per hour to two stop sets per hour...in order to increase our PPM numbers even more," it said. "The great thing about PPM is we will see the benefits of this much more quickly than we were able with the …

The House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly to endorse new drug-approval procedures that will now allow the Food and Drug Administration to fine drug companies for misleading direct-to-consumer ads. Many ad groups hail the legislation as a big win for Big Pharma because it does not contain actual curbs on marketing practices that could have put a dent in the $4.5 billion spent annually on DTC ads. "It is one of the most significant victories for advertising and commercial speech in the past two decades," says Jim Davidson, a lobbyist for ad and media groups. …

Wendy's is drawing some fire for a TV commercial that shows floating after inhaling helium, with one group charging it sends a bad message to children about inhalants. The spot, which has Wendy's patrons standing next to a pressurized tank talking in high-pitched voices and then rising in the air, is tagged "filling up with just anything, that's wrong." A Wendy's spokesman says the company has gotten a small number of calls and for now, the ad is staying put. He says it depicts an absurd scene and is "a situation that is not real because people don't …

Shortly before its planned debut Wednesday, Comcast Cable yanked a new ad from its Houston system for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which featured actress Alicia Silverstone in the buff. The 30-second spot, in which she touts what a vegetarian diet can do for a body,was supposed to run more than a dozen times in the Houston market, a city picked because by some measures, it's one of the fattest in the country. Cable nets on the schedule included E!, Lifetime and the Food Network. A Comcast spokesperson says the nudity was what got the ad …

While many worry that advertising spending could get hurt as the economy continues to weaken, CBS chief Les Moonves isn't sweating it yet. "We are not seeing any trends that say people are pulling back on advertising," Moonves says, adding that in addition to a good upfront this year, the scatter market is "phenomenal," with expected growth of over 30% in the fourth quarter. His view ruins counter to some recent data -- notably that from TNS Media Intelligence -- that show ad spending in the first half of the year was down year over year and actually declined …

The American Cancer Society, abandoning a long tradition of political neutrality, is entering the healthcare debate with an ad campaign that calls for a fix to America's "broken system." The new effort features cancer patients who have been denied access to treatment because they had no insurance -- or ruined financially even when they did. The idea is to generate discussion on healthcare reform. Dr. Bill Walker, chairman of the California Public Hospitals Association, says the uninsured are often diagnosed later when cancer is tougher to cure. "The American Cancer Society is now focusing on the issue …

Rupert Murdoch vows that his new Fox Business Network will take a different approach than CNBC and says it will be a battle of Wall Street against Main Street. "It's going to be different from CNBC, just as Fox News is different from CNN," says the News Corp. chief. He says: "CNBC is a financial channel for Wall Street; we're for Main Street." Fox Business is readying an Oct. 15 launch into 34 million homes and Murdoch is looking forward to competing with CNBC. "They dwell too much on failures and scandals and politics," he says. "We want …

Initiative has left the review of AT&T's massive media account, whittling down to four the number of shops in contention for the $3.4 billion business. Initiative says it pulled out after a briefing from the client last week. "In light of the conflict policy communicated to us ... it will not be possible for us to draw all of the resources from across Interpublic that are required to best meet the client's needs," the agency says. (Sister agency Universal McCann handles media for AT&T rival Verizon.) Remaining incumbents in the review are Omnicom Group's GSD&M, already the lead …

Mike's Hard Lemonade has put its account into review, signing up Ark Advisors to handle the search. Incumbent We Are Gigantic has been invited to try and keep the business, which could hit $30 million in ad spending this year. "Mike's Hard Lemonade...is seeking an agency to help energize its business," says Kevin McLaughlin, vice president of marketing. "Along with recent new product launches, we believe this will help us to realize the full potential of this great trademark. This search is a reflection of our desire to seek out the best resources to partner with us …

BB&T Corp. is using the Louisville market to roll out a new ad campaign on the financial services company's customer service model. Print, radio and outdoor campaign broke over the weekend and focuses on reliability, responsiveness, empathy and competence. The Winston-Salem, N.C.-based firm has about 1,500 branches in North and South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Indiana and Washington, D.C. "Ever since we entered the Louisville area five years ago, it's been a market we've considered one of our most important," says Wes Beckner, president of BB&T's Louisville unit.