The Conference Board's Help-Wanted Advertising Index -- a key measure of job ads in major newspapers -- fell a point in November, with declines in all nine regions of the country. Hit hardest was the Pacific, down almost 13%, followed by the Mountain at a 12.5% decline and West North Central at 12.4%. "The forward indicators of labor market activity offer little hope that the labor market will be spared," says Ken Goldstein, labor economist at The Conference Board. "The latest readings on print want-ad volume show some slowing in recent months, after slowly losing steam through the …

The chief executive of Best Buy says he is "very nervous" about his company's ability to supply customers the millions of digital TV converter boxes that will be needed before most analog TV transmissions end in just 13 months. "I think it's one of the biggest risks our industry has," Brad Anderson told attendees at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Full-power TV stations will turn off their analog signals on Feb. 17 of next year, switching to digital-only. So viewers who get their TV fix via an antenna will need to buy a converter -- …

ABC remains confident that its Academy Awards show will air as planned on Feb. 24, even with the ongoing writers strike. And the Alphabet Network sees no need to offer advertisers contingencies for lower-than-expected ratings. Execs at ABC are denying reports that they were already talking to buyers about what to do if the strike forces changes in the planned three-hour Oscar broadcast. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences "is fully committed to doing the show, and we have not been out there with contingency plans for advertisers," says an ABC spokeswoman. The Writers Guild of …

High definition TV makers are working hard to stand out in an increasingly crowded field, adding exotic features and colors, while battling to see who can be the thinnest of all. All the major HDTV brands unveiled their newest wrinkles this week at the International Consumer Electronics Show, with big innovations coming from names like Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic and Toshiba. They are among the companies that are trying to keep HDTVs from becoming a commodity product a la DVD players, a category which they were largely driven to when unknown Asian manufacturers began to slap them together and …

Omnicom Group's OMD has hung onto Visa's U.S. media business, although overseas work apparently remains in play between it and WPP Group's Mediaedge:cia, insiders say. Apart form the U.S., OMD handles Visa's account in the Asia-Pacific region, China and India, while MEC has European media and sponsorship. A third shop -- Publicis' Starcom - has Canada and most of Latin America. But the U.S. accounts for more than two-thirds of the client's global business, which is estimated at $650 million. In the U.S., Visa spent $440 million in measured media in 2006 and $300 million in the first …

A Wall Street analyst is warning that ad revenue trends at The New York Times Co. could get even worse in 2008 as a drop-off in movie and luxury advertising drags the Gray Lady down. Those two categories helped the company in the third quarter of 2007 -- when revenue was up 3% compared to an industry decline of 7% -- but they may soon dry up. "Although [the New York Times'] recent success in growing its national ad revenue is a positive, we wonder if investors have been lulled into a false sense of security," says …

Hormel is coming into 2008 with a new TV and print ad campaign, tagged "Blue and Yellow World," that is keyed to the Austin, Minn.-based company's best-known brand: Spam. Next week, a series of three 30-second TV spots will roll out, featuring animated figures leaping off traffic signs to go after some of the meat-food product. "Its 'Blue and Yellow World' theme delivers a break-through message that entices Spam lovers to recall the unforgettable taste while demonstrating the convenience, versatility and relevance of the iconic brand," says Dan Goldman, manager for the Spam family of products. It is …

Carnival Cruise Lines is sticking with its "Fun Ships" approach in a new advertising and marketing campaign, complete with 30-second national TV spots featuring the slogan "Let the Fun Begin." Created by Coral Gables, Fla.-based CooperDDB, the multimillion-dollar effort will also include print ads using images drawn from the TV spots that are set to run in national newspapers, magazines including People and Oprah, and trade publications like Travel Weekly. In the approach, the world's largest cruise line, is targeting both families and couples of all generations with one tag being "Fun has no age limit."