Facebook is nipping at the heels of Yahoo for the No. 2 slot behind Google as the Web's top property, according to the latest figures from Web measurment service Compete. Facebook's traffic was down slightly in November from the prior month to $132.6 million. But that total was less than 2 million behind Yahoo's 134.5 million, down 1.5% from October. Google's audience was essentially flat in November at 145.6 million. Among sites that continue to lose ground: Myspace, which just cut half its staff, saw traffic fall 10.6%, Craigslist (5%) and Mapquest.com (13.7%). Not surprisingly, retail sites got a …

In a bid to reach out to older women looking for sexier skin, Procter & Gamble has tapped actress Kim Cattrall to represent Olay Total Effects 7-in-1 Anti-Aging Body Wash & Body Lotion, promising "younger looking skin in just 1 shower." The addition of Cattrall, 54, best known for portraying aging sex machine Samantha Jones on Sex & The City, indicates that P&G intends to work a larger age spectrum: Last fall, it made major headlines when it signed country megastar Carrie Underwood—a spring chicken at 27—as its first-ever North American Celebrity Ambassador for Olay Skin Care. A …

Gwen Stefani, front woman of rock band No Doubt, is this year's face of L'Oreal Paris She joins Jennifer Lopez, Milla Jovovich, Diane Keaton, Beyonce Knowles, Diane Kruger, Evangeline Lilly, Andie MacDowell, Julianna Margulies, Eva Longoria, Freida Pinto and Kerry Washington as models for the brand

Microsoft is using the high profile telecast of the Golden Globes awards to introduce a new corporate tagline and a strategy that more keenly hones the idea that the company's products help people achieve their dreams. The two commercials, which introduce the corporate tagline, "Be What's Next," to a national audience, showcase the company's Windows 7 phone operating platform, and its Bing, search engine.

The U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida has dismissed all federal and state antitrust claims brought against the Nielsen Co. by Sunbeam Television Corp., regarding its TV ratings practices in the Miami market, Nielsen announced in a statement released this afternoon. "The Court held that Sunbeam failed to show that any competitor was 'willing and able' to enter the local television ratings market in Miami and was excluded from that market by Nielsen," Nielsen stated, adding, "The Court also determined that Sunbeam could not prove that the current ratings for Sunbeam's local station WSVN are less …

Online analytics firm InsightExpress has partnered with four unnamed panel companies to offer clients access to expanded audience samples to better measure ad effectiveness and enhance cross-media research. Dubbed the Ignite Network, the initiative will encompass more than 10 million respondents and allow advertisers to create survey panels larger than online samples that typically top out at 2 million, according to InsightExpress. "In reality, in order to do sophisticated analysis, you need a very large pool," said Marc Ryan, the company's chief revenue officer. Besides offering the scale to target specific audiences, the service will allow clients to recruit …

Interpublic's Initiative unit has reorganized its digital team, promoting Michael Hayes to president-digital, and recruiting David Goodrich from sister shop Universal McCann as its new executive vice president-digital director. Initiative said the restructuring is intended to accelerate its "interactive and social offerings." Hayes, who will be based in Los Angeles, previously was executive vice president-managing director digital at Initiative, picks up oversight of key global accounts while continuing to run Initiative's U.S. digital operations, and will work closely with Initiative Chief Strategy Officer Eric Bader to whom he will report, as well as to Initiative North American President …

Just days after the formal launch of Cox Digital Solutions, the new unit has acquired the IB Local Network, the local business and ad sales group of Internet Broadcasting. The move will give Cox Digital a total of 150 employees in 10 markets and is aimed at expanding market opportunities through IB Local's publisher relationships. The formation of Cox Digital was announced Tuesday through the merger of Adify and Cox Cross Media. Internet Broadcasting, which manages Web sites for local TV stations, said the deal would allow the company to focus on its core business of providing clients …

Some of the country's largest retailers are kicking off the New Year with expanded commitment to their signature causes, with Walmart, Kohl's and Macy's all announcing new initiatives. Kohl's, already committed to many child-focused efforts, says it is donating $1.5 million over a three-year period to a "Serving Up Supper for Kids" program that will provide some 336,000 meals during summer months, when kids are not in school and have no access to federal food programs. The Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based chain says it will fund the donation through its Kohl's Cares cause merchandise program, which sells plush toys and …

Performance ad network Adknowledge has raised a total of $200 million in debt and equity financing to fund future acquisitions. The equity portion was led by JMI Equity while Bank of America led the debt financing via U.S. and international markets. The company had previously raised a $48 million round in 2006 led by Technology Crossover Ventures. Adknowledge says its doubled its revenue in the last year through acquisitions and is now the largest privately-held online ad network in the U.S. with more than 330 employees and $300 million in revenue. Among its acquisitions earlier this year was cos-per-action …