The ad man behind the infamous "Willie Horton" ad that did so much damage to Michael Dukakis' 1988 presidential campaign is back, and this time he is going after Sen. Barack Obama. A cadre of conservative activists led by Floyd Brown, who created the Horton spot, has launched a campaign to portray the Illinois Democrat as soft on crime and terrorism in an attempt to hurt his relatively strong reputation among Republican voters. "The campaign by Hillary Clinton has not been able to raise Obama's negatives," says Brown. "It is absolutely critical that Obama's negatives go up with …

Bob Woodruff of ABC News is set to anchor a weekly environmentally oriented show series for Planet Green, a new network from by Discovery Communications. Billed as an "eco-newscast," the program will offer "in-depth news for half an hour every week," Woodruff says, including "arguments and controversies, scientific analysis and breaking international news." It will be produced by ABC News. "I've traveled around the world covering a wide range of stories," he says. "But the environment is one story that knows no boundaries or limitations in terms of its impact on humanity." After just a month as …

The National Hockey League will remain on NBC as the peacock network has extended its two-year revenue-sharing deal with the NHL through the 2008-09 season. The move comes on the heels of the last one-year extension announced in 2007. It includes NBC's "Game of the Week" and flexible scheduling that allows it to pick the best match-up, including three games on Sundays -- along with the Stanley Cup finals. The NHL has had a tough time since NBC Sports bought the broadcast TV rights deal in 2004 with a lockout that canceled a season, followed by low ratings on …

Tyson Foods plans to appeal a ruling by a federal judge who granted a preliminary injunction against marketing efforts that claim its poultry products don't contain antibiotics. Rivals Perdue and Sanderson are arguing that the ads are misleading because none use those types of drugs, but consumers might be led to believe they do. Sanderson claims $4 million in lost sales as a result of the Tyson campaign, while Purdue sets its losses at $11 million. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett says he is convinced "that the consumer public is being misled" by Tyson's …

Magazine publishers are experimenting more with "eye-tracking," a technology that collects and analyzes data like "first gaze" -- a person's vision path across a page or screen. The information gleaned helps publishers design covers, gauge ad effectiveness and help plan Web site redesigns. Conde Nast, for one, recently partnered with eye tracking service provider MediaAnalyzer to judge the effectiveness of ads, especially for long-term clients. The deal enables the company to offer "a unique value add to advertisers in our publications," says Scott McDonald, the company's senior vice president of marketing research. MediaAnalyzer's methodology "helps our advertisers maximize their …

That Aflac duck is heading back to the workplace with a new ad campaign targeting firms of all sizes. Tagged campaign "Aflac for business," it will include TV, radio, print and online executions. "The objective is to communicate to business decision-makers that Aflac offers insurance products and services they will find of value to attract and retain employees, add benefits to their current package and possibly save them dollars," says Al Johnson, vice president, marketing services at Aflac. The key targets are business decision-makers and human resources people. Ads are tailored for different industries and put the …