If you needed any further proof that we are knee-deep in the days of high-def everything, no matter how ridiculous, look no further than the "High Definition Napkin" (HDN for short) from guerrilla marketing crew AMG (Alternative Marketing Group).

In the summer of 2002, the heads of the major home-entertainment divisions convened on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Calif., to kick around ideas for a high-definition version of DVD - and plan their next boom.

Industry insiders worry radio has been around so long that it's taken for granted. "If you invented this medium today - with its ability to be local, ubiquitous, and its low cost of transmission - everybody would marvel at it," says Jeffrey Smulyan, CEO of Emmis Communications. "But because it's been around for almost 100 years, everyone says, 'It's just radio.'" In response, the National Association of Broadcasters, the HD Digital Radio Alliance, and the Radio Advertising Bureau launched Radio 2020, a campaign to remind listeners and advertisers that this century-old medium is still relevant. Part of that strategy involves …

Few people placed bigger, earlier bets on the future of high-definition than Dallas Mavericks owner and dot-com billionaire Mark Cuban. In 2001 he launched the first all-HD network, appropriately named HDNet. But in a world where everything from radio to Web streams now claim ever-higher resolution, is HD a differentiator?

Even though nobody seems to know exactly what "high-definition" actually means, American gadgeteers and marketers apparently lust for turning that technology "one louder" in every pursuit. The cult of high definition is upon us. Everywhere we look (indoor or out), and everywhere we listen, hd is the new "all new and improved," the new "digital," the new sticker applied to all products to define that next level of inevitable technical perfection - the new "11."

The Walgreens "spectacular," a sort of showoff term traditionally used to refer to the displays that illuminate Broadway, encompasses three sides of the One Times Square building. In total, 29 screens surround the building, and combine in various configurations to simplify the content production as much as possible. The diagonals that flank both sides of the building rise 17 stories - each side is comprised of three screens - and measure 28 feet wide by 250 feet tall. In front, the screen facing 42nd Street clocks in at 54 feet wide by 31 feet tall. The visual extravaganza is grounded …

A new book for marketers, POW! Right Between the Eyes! (Wiley, $22.95) by Andy Nulman kicks off its message about the value of surprise marketing straightaway in its forward (forwards, actually - there are two and they are by surprising choices).

Are those big tv entertainment awards shows with ho-hum ratings still worth it? Not for everyone in these recessionary times. Other than that, go and enjoy your pricey tv purchase."For a long time, the Oscars and the Grammys were must-buys in the first quarter," says Brad Adgate, senior vice president and corporate research director for Horizon Media. "But now those shows are starting to get hit with the same kind of audience fractionalization that other regular primetime shows get."Last year on abc The Academy Awards earned a slim 10.7 rating among 18-49 viewers, while The Grammys took …

The LA skyline shares its usual musty-brown morning greeting with mark as he pours his first cup of coffee, its warm aroma promising the taste of dark nectar to revive the soul. Mark's modest apartment shows the signs of modern technology in all the usual places: the newest All-In-One phone, a 5,000 Mbps Internet connection, and a 15.1 channel stereo that his neighbors wish he didn't have.

As an online-media professional, i will publicly admit the following only under duress (such as waterboarding) - traditional broadcast media still work. Shhh, don't tell anyone. Of course tv and radio don't work as well as they used to. Consumers are increasingly less attentive and those media are too cluttered. But, yes, they still work as marketing vehicles. Given their broad reach, they can effectively promote visitations to Web sites.