As the never-ending hydration wars rage into month seven, it's no secret that Dunkin' Donuts has continued to encroach upon archrival Starbucks' market share on the battleground of caffeinated beverages. But leave it to Dunkin' spokeslady Rachael Ray to drag a completely different war - you know, that one about freedom - into the conflict.

You know mobile video is getting real when local TV finally gets involved. Treading where only advanced cell-phone operators, Wi-Fi providers and other new media mavens dared to go, old-school broadcasters - that's right, local TV affiliates - will soon be transmitting their signals, ads and all, to mobile devices in their markets.

Even for the OOH marketing world, Adpack USA is a bit niche. The company specializes in "promotional facial tissues, towelettes and wet towels." Last month AdPack held its second annual Tissue Tactics Contest (a challenge to marketers to come up with innovative promotions) in New York, where it awarded the world's largest tissue pack and $6,000 to first place winner Creative Jones. CJ's big idea? A pitch for a wedding planner client with the tag "Cry for all the Right Reasons." (As if there are wrong ones; not to a tissue man, there aren't.) The possibilities are endless: Besides weddings, …

Looks like radio is finally taking, well ... radio, seriously. Pummeled by losing market share, declining stock values and an eroding position in the media-buying topology of both traditional and new media agencies, the radio industry has decided it's time to start investing in itself.

On YouTube, you may not realize you've clicked a commercial until it's played completely through - and maybe not even then. A few stealth ads leaving vapor trails:

Attention, television-viewing public: You've been Punk'd by a lady in red. Mysterious commercials promoting Scarlet, a new "series" from director David Nutter (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), began generating buzz in mid-April. The spots mentioned no affiliated network, but they featured enough explosions and shots of the eponymous ass-kicking heroine (played by model/actress Natassia Malthe) to have Hollywood's A-list lining up for the premiere.

When Brett Ratner - the director of the Rush Hour films and the last X-Men movie, and better known for his romantic dalliances than for his business diligence - launched his branding consultancy with a Guitar Hero spot on American Idol, people who thought only Lindsay Lohan could stir the man were curious. "Brands seem to lack any emotional connections with their consumers," Ratner says. "I strive to help them incorporate culturally relevant material into their products."

From the time they realized that people evaluate brands based on their behavior rather than on calendars and units of time, marketers have placed "creating experiences" on the top of their priority lists. This is nothing new: From the branded utility craze a few years ago to the buzz surrounding Web 2.0, brands have scrambled to build relationships with people. Building connections, like anything else, must be insightfully relevant, and oftentimes marketers make the mistake of thinking that if they build it - all Field of Dreams-like - people will come.

For months, I've been reading about "engagement" in various publications that report on advertising and marketing. Much of the discussion focuses on how audiences engage and respond to programming content - always a useful insight. But, you could have highly engaging content matched with ads that generate little audience participation - or, ads that highly engage but which do not reside in equally compelling contextual environments.

Right around New Year's Day, everyone fires up a crystal ball and predicts the future. So when 2007 gave way to 2008, many believed this would be the year that growth in display advertising would accelerate, fueled by marketers moving branding dollars online.