There will likely be some interesting boardroom conversations taking place at London-based agency holding company Aegis Group following Chairman John Napier’s comments Thursday on the U.S. government’s scrutiny of British petroleum giant, and environmental SNAFU artist BP’s efforts to stop the oil leak and clean up the mess it’s making of marine life surrounding U.S. shores. Napier, who until the recent promotion of Jerry Buhlmann, had also been Aegis’ acting CEO, is also chairman of Britain’s RSA Insurance Group, and acting in that capacity, has taken a very public stance criticizing the Obama Administration’s comments about BP’s efforts to date. …

Former USC head coach Pete Carroll issued a statement Thursday on YouTube in response to the NCAA sanctions imposed on the school's football team. The Trojans football team is facing a two-year ban on playing in bowl games and stripped the players from scholarships. The penalties stem from improper benefits accepted by Reggie Bush. Reports also suggest that the team will also forfeit games while Bush was at the school. Carroll says after nine years of working at the university he's shocked that the NCAA made the ruling. He says the facts don't match the sanctions, and …

Content delivery network Akamai has agreed to acquire mobile services platform Velocitude. The move is aimed at bolstering Akamai's presence in the mobile market, extending its Web optimization services to handheld devices. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. By adding Velocitude's technology, Akamai said it would be able to dynamically adapt customer Web sites for different devices and screen sizes. Since most sites aren't tailored to cell phones, mobile Web browsing on handsets has often proven a frustrating experience for users. By improving the quality of mobile browsing, Akamai could help expand uptake of the emerging medium. …

Social media is likely not the #1 priority these days at Denny's, what with searches for both a new CEO and a new CMO now underway and heavy investor pressure to rejuvenate the brand and jump-start its sales. Still, from a marketing standpoint, it's interesting to note that the company is pushing forward with efforts to enhance its social media outreach, even as a new top-level strategic team tackles the job of reassessing the business's fundamentals.

Those set on choosing a custom background on Google.com's engine will have to wait. Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president of search products and user experience, explains in a update to a blog post how a glitch in the system has prompted a rollback to simplicity. "We had planned to run an explanation of the showcase alongside it—in the form of a link on our homepage," Mayer writes. "Due to a bug, the explanatory link did not appear for most users. As a result, many people thought we had permanently changed our homepage, so we decided to stop today’s …

Chrysler is waiting for new products to come down the pipeline, and that is a tense wait. But the Auburn Hills, Mich. unit has a Rubicon-style rope to cling to in the new Jeep Grand Cherokee. The vehicle, the first under the Chrysler/Fiat SpA alliance, is a critical and (I know it's overused) iconic nameplate in the Jeep lineup. The company is rolling out a new ad campaign for the redesigned SUV, and at one time back in the days when SUV meant truck, one of the top sellers. The new Grand Cherokee is, like most SUV's these days, a …

A little sun just went out of summer: When it comes to all of its most delicious rituals—including food and family vacations—more consumers are cutting back than last year, and are more apprehensive about the economy. That's the latest from SymphonyIRI, which polled 1,000 adults about their summer spending plans. "Last year, the economy was inching in the right direction, and people had a sense that it would recover more smoothly," Susan Viamari, Editor of SymphonyIRI's Times & Trends, tells Marketing Daily. "Then when that didn't happen, wallets started closing—folks are emerging as a lot more conservative." In …

KeyBank is trying to entice new customers to open a checking account with an offer almost too good to believe -- a free iPod Touch. The promotion, which runs through July 30, is being advertised via billboard, radio, print in area newspapers and website banner ads. “Our approach with the iPod was to find a unique approach to break through some of the financial services advertising clutter and gain attention of those interested in a new banking relationship,” KeyBank Regional Marketing Manager Mark Knierim tells <I>Marketing Daily</I>. “By providing a premium that's out of the ordinary, we have …

That's what some unconfirmed press reports are saying about long-time trade press editor, Michael Burgi, who apparently is jumping ship at Mediaweek to take the job of vice president-communications at Canoe Ventures. Canoe, of course, is the cable TV industry venture that is trying to leverage the enhanced advertising and targeting capabilities of local cable TV systems. According to a report in TheWrap blog by former Mediaweek reporter John Consoli, Mediaweek Executive Editor Jim Cooper is expected to succeed Burgi as editor of the trade magazine. Michael Burgi

House Democrats will today officially introduce the "Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act." The legislation mirrors key investments recommended by President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in her "Let's Move" initiative for reducing childhood obesity and improving childhood nutrition and wellness -- including proposals to establish the first national nutrition standards spanning all foods sold in schools, and implement new school food safety standards.