• Advertising Age , Monday, August 13, 2012 8 AM

In the wake of bleak second-quarter results, JC Penney says it is shifting its marketing from brand building to business building. CEO Ron Johnson said the company has 30 newspaper inserts planned for the back half, including eight in August alone. By comparison, it ran just 11 inserts during the spring season. To free up money for those investments, the retailer is cutting back on TV. What TV it runs will focus on brands, products and pricing, rather than lifestyle: Back-to-school themed ads highlight a variety of denim brands, as well as free haircuts for kids in kindergarten through sixth grade. 

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