• Dogs Play Role In Super Bowl, NBC Drama
    In the full Super Bowl advertising ecosystem, there may be just one bargain: dogs. They work cheap and they apparently just plain work.
  • Networks Postpone Settlement Talks With Dish, Customer Data Crucial To Future Ones
    After all the barbs tossed back and forth, the combatants actually were scheduled to meet this week and try to work through their differences. Several hours in a conference room and there could have been a path to peace. Didn't happen. Not surprisingly, the battling between networks and Dish over the AutoHop ad-zapping feature will continue. The tone of any settlement discussions might be impacted by how successful Dish is at marketing the commercial skipping.
  • NFL Head Injuries Make Game Harder To Watch
    How fortunate the NFL is. There is no more popular entertainment entity and the league is set to get even wealthier with DirecTV likely to pay it another fortune to continue offering "Sunday Ticket." So, even with all the reports about head trauma former players are suffering and all the concussions current quarterbacks are enduring, there is no credible threat to interest in the league diminishing. But the game is becoming harder to watch, which can put fans in a tough spot.
  • Ad Industry Underappreciated For Super Spectacle
    For a brief moment any image of a cocky, carefree Madison Avenue creative executive is shattered in a newly released USA Today video. Asked about the weight on his shoulders to make a Super Bowl commercial a crackerjack one, Mark Hunter goes introspective and betrays stress. "It's a pressure-cooker," the chief creative officer of Deutsch L.A. says.
  • Massachusetts Senate Race A Bonus For Stations
    With the prospect of another U.S. senate campaign in Massachusetts, Gov. Deval Patrick was blunt: "I'm fatigued." How much more torture can Massachusetts residents take? Sometime mid-year, the Red Sox will again be in last place and the airwaves could be filled with another nauseating onslaught of negative political ads. Which is worse? That's a close one.
  • Heavy Sports Advertisers Take A Super Bowl Pass
    Just about every rabid sports fan watches the Super Bowl, so it would seem logical that the giant marketers targeting them would welcome an all-at-once platform. But, for the most part, they seem to believe their resources could be better applied.
  • Industry Might Try Some New Words
    With all the advancement in the media business, maybe it's time for some industry argot that looks backward. More refined language might be in store such as rebranding a negotiation a colloquy.
  • Brother Vs. Brother Theme Primed For Media Overkill
    The New England Patriots let every American who doesn't pull for them down Sunday. As soon as the San Francisco 49ers earned a berth in the Super Bowl, it became imperative that the Patriots beat Baltimore to earn the second spot.
  • TV And Nicotine Offers An Interesting Mix
    The broadcast networks have gone through long periods of refusing to accept ads for hard alcohol and condoms. In similar fashion, they seem unwilling to air spots for the controversial electronic cigarettes. Some cable networks might hope they'll continue with any rejections - all the more money for them.
  • Dish Could Score With Super Bowl Ad Rejection
    CBS has announced the Super Bowl is sold out. Still, CEO Leslie Moonves has said there's a potential loophole: "obviously, if one of those movie companies wants to come in at the last minute and pay us $5 million or $6 million, we will find a place for you at halftime or somewhere like that." Certainly, the opportunity to offer the big money and still get in isn't limited to Warner Bros. or Harvey Weinstein. If CBS can find space for them, there has to be an opening for IBM, Visa or McDonald's -- or Dish Network? Money talks? Not …
« Previous Entries