The new "A" word apt to replace "accountability" as a catch-phrase in next year's upfront will be "addressability." At an ad panel called "What Really Happened in This Year's Upfront," hosted by the Ad Club, Group M Chief Investment Officer Rino Scanzoni said the key to ad effectiveness on TV is to make viewers feel like they're being spoken to directly. "If someone sees the same spot nine times, they could say, 'I get it,' and move on," he says. "But if you're sending them a message they're likely interested in, they're less likely to skip. The numbers may be …

Westinghouse Digital Electronics is rolling out a new ad campaign that touts its line of LCD HDTVs, computer monitors and digital photo frames. Scheduled to run through the end of the year, there are three separate 15-second spots in the effort, all under the tag "You can be sure, if it's Westinghouse." One boasts of the company's wide array of products, while the other are about specific lines. The commercials are set to run on big market stations during morning news programs, late night talk and sports events. The company is looking for a cumulative audience of …

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is one star of a new ad campaign designed to spur reluctant members of Congress to move swiftly to address global warming. The ad, launching next week in 17 markets, was put together by the group Environmental Defense and features Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana, a Democrat, and Jon Huntsman Jr., the Republican governor of Utah. All are in charge of Western states that have spectacular natural beauty and tourism-based economies. Frustrated with what they view as a lack of federal leadership, the trio has decided to take their case right to the people. …

As they gird themselves for a lengthy writers strike, the major networks have started a round of belt-tightening. At Fox, for instance, execs were recently told to start reigning in the discretionary spending, including things like travel and meals. That follows a move by NBC to pull out of the TV Critics Association press tour so as to be fiscally "prudent." And The Peacock Network may be weighing further cutbacks as well. Nothing's been announced yet at CBS, but some executives there are also pushing financial restraint. "All of the Fox Entertainment Group will be looking at a variety …

A shift in consumer habits from analog to digital media may be revolutionizing the ad industry but, according to a new study by Accenture, it could really sting traditional ad agencies. In a survey of dozens of industry leaders, Accenture found that agencies would have the most to lose in any new order: 43 percent said they would fare worst in the digital transition, vs. the 33 percent who think broadcasters will. Cable operators came in third with 10 percent. The main challenge agencies face stems is from the ascendancy of performance-based advertising and the tools needed to execute it, …

As it tries to boost interest in its Thursday night games, the NFL Network has rolled out a new ad campaign starring legendary quarterback Joe Montana. The spots are set in a diner owned by Joe Clifford, and are rife with employees and patrons who chat about upcoming games and "how inside the access is" on NFL Network. The effort comes as NFL Network fights it out with major cable TV operators that won''t pay extra to carry the net on basic tiers. Commercials will be shot every other week on Mondays, edited Tuesdays, and telecast Thursdays via …

Merrill Lynch is using its bull logo in an attempt to convince the financial world of its continued strength, after posting the biggest quarterly loss in company history. The investment bank has taken out a full-page ads papers, including the Financial Times and in The New York Times as part of a new ad push that explains to investors, employees and opinion-makers that it's "bullish" even after write-downs that hit $8.4 billion. The company will also buy time on various Web sites, including those of the FT, the NYT, Bloomberg, CNBC and MSNBC. Tagged "why Merrill Lynch is …

With a new Chevrolet, a Lincoln with a super-efficient gasoline engine and a hybrid Dodge, car makers are heavily pushing the message that they will come up with cars that offer big improvements in fuel economy. But apart from their ad campaigns, the industry is fighting to block the tough new proposals for raising federal mileage standards. "They're definitely saying one thing to Congress and one thing to consumers," says Phyllis Cuttino, director of the Pew Campaign for Fuel Efficiency. Notably, Toyota - often lauded its gas-electric hybrid technology, took out a full-page ad in USA Today to …

Omnicom Group's GSD&M Idea City is about to fire 100 to 200 people, due to the loss of its piece of AT&T's $3.4 billion media account, insiders say. While Idea City Chairman-CEO Roy Spence is expected to soon inform the employees, he declines to confirm the number of layoffs. He does say they stem from the telco's October decision to consolidate its media account at WPP Group's Mediaedge:cia. "Mediaedge won the media business from Omnicom and us, [and] we simply have more jobs than we have work on that media side," Spence says. "It was a giant …

It took a while, but The New York Times hired Fortune's Tim Arango as its new media reporter. He starts Dec. 3. He takes over for Richard Siklos, who left the paper for Fortune. The beat is a big deal at the newspaper, since it involves coverage of major companies and media figures, like Rupert Murdoch and Sumner Redstone. Sources say Arango wasn't the newspaper's first choice. Several prominent reporters from The Wall Street Journal were approached, but none were willing to jump ship. The Times says Arango was its only serious candidate.