Manny Ramirez, one of the top sluggers on the World Champion Boston Red Sox, is among the bevy of Major League Baseball players in a summer sportswear promotion for retail behemoth Macy's. He will be part of a Father's Day marketing blitz, and while Macy's yet to spill any details, it confirms the overall plan. To show off the hot weather casual wear, Ramirez joined 14 other baseball stars for a recent Florida photo shoot, including New York Mets manager Willie Randolph, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre, New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, Albert Pujols of …

CBS Sports is hoping that having the top four seeds in the NCAA's Final Four for the first time will bring it a ratings bonanza this weekend. And their desire is all the more urgent as March Madness ratings were off to a sluggish start, falling 10% in the early rounds on the back of some big blowouts. And through the first 60 games, the tournament's ratings are off 7%, compared with a year ago. CBS News/Sports president Sean McManus says that while Cinderella teams are good in the early rounds, the best result is having the …

Woody Allen is suing American Apparel, claiming the clothing company has used his image in outdoor ads and online without his permission. Billboard ads for American Apparel that depict the actor/director dressed as a rabbi, appeared in New York and California, according to the lawsuit, filed in a Manhattan federal district court. Allen claims the company neither contacted him in advance of the campaign nor paid him for using his image. He "does not engage in the commercial endorsement of products or services in the United States." American Apparel isn't talking, but according to court papers, Allen wants …

Some cable nets are thinking that increased viewership after the writers' strikes will help broadcasters score big in the upfront. But many media buyers point out that the scatter market has cooled off and if some ad dollars move to cable, economic concerns may rein in overall spending. Cable networks are spending big in the upfront season as broadcasters scale back -- and also putting unprecedented investments into original programming. At a recent Hallmark event, Bill Abbott, executive vice president for ad sales at the channel, projected that the cable market will pull double-digit CPM increases …

Ad spending in North America and Western Europe is expected to grow by 3.8% this year, according to a study by ZenithOptimedia, down from the agency's previous estimate of a 4.4% rise. While the credit crunch is hitting mature markets in big way, the shop actually upped its 2008 forecasts in the rest of the world to 11.1% from 10.9%, but lowered its total global guess to 6.5% from 6.7%. That follows a move by media network Carat earlier this month to trim its global ad spending growth forecast to 6% from 6.2%. Zenith, part of French …

Nickelodeon, the Viacom-owned kids cable net, is readying a production of "Spectacular!" a music-themed comedy set in high school. Robert Iscove of "She's All That" fame is directing the telefilm with a cast of relative unknowns. The project has been kept below the radar and centers on a preppy high school student who is part of the school's choir at a time when its most talented members have graduated or defected to rival squads. Nick says "Spectacular!" is not a classic musical and the songs in it will be performance-based rather than those characters who suddenly breaking out …

The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has slapped retail behemoth Wal-Mart, saying the company should change its advertising to avoid the claim that its shoppers save an annual $2,500 per family. But the industry's self-regulating body also accepts Wal-Mart's overall position that its efficiency and size drive down consumer prices across the entire U.S. economy. The company says it did not mean to imply only its shoppers were getting the savings. "Wal-Mart is pleased that NAD has confirmed that the express claim, 'Wal-Mart Saves the Average Family $2,500 per year,' which was …