Adverganza's (truncated) Monday morning picks, 01.14.08

Wherein I scan as many Monday morning headlines as I can on Sunday night so you don't have to. What do I mean by that? Oh, yeah. Well, I've been called to jury duty at 8:30 a.m. in the Southern District of New York. Pray that my extensive coverage of the Biegel vs. Dentsu trial, which is being handled by the same court, results in my ass getting kicked back to the home office as soon as possible. Since Advertising Age is the only ad pub with new content up as I write this, that's what you're gettin'.

From Ad Age:

—What major advertising eggheads think would happen to the biz in a recession.
—Screw engagement. It's reach, stupid.
—Is the red-head dead? Quick, guess the client.
—Ogilvy shifts into "permanent beta."
—The dawn of McBucks? StarDonald's? Er, whatever.
—Whopper Freakout results in freakishly high recall.
—Bob Garfield gives one half of a star to allegedly provocative Equinox campaign from Fallon.

More to come, if the judge thinks I'm not worthy ...

OK, for today the judge didn't think I was worthy, so here's the rest.

From Adweek:

—Happy New Year! Almost half of CMOs plan to fire at least one of their agencies in the next year, per the CMO Council.
—Audi will use scenes from "The Godfather" in its Super Bowl ad. Why? To prove that the head of a horse will fit in the trunk?
—Just what you always wanted ... customized ads beamed to you in the grocery store. Thanks, Microsoft.
—If you read this story about BP, you'll find out what greenwashing is.
—Is Interpublic's lo, lo stock price making it vulnerable to takeover?
—How much the writers' strike is costing the media.
—Barbara Lippert likes The Lynx Effect.

From Mediapost:

—A Hummer that runs on ethanol, and other news from GM at the North American International Auto Show.
—Coke's plans for the Super Bowl and 'American Idol.'
—C3 prepares to go local.
—Leno still wins, even without writers.
—Will BofA's purchase of Countrywide kill its "ad gravy train"?

From The New York Post:

—Why BofA should dump the Countrywide brand.

From The New York Times:

—People having fun dumping on Gawker.
—The new, maybe improved, Yahoo!
—U.S. cities try to lure foreigners.

From The Wall Street Journal:

—News alert! Advertisers using online networks as focus groups.

What we're hearing from The Delaney Report:

—Is BBDO vulnerable on Chrysler?
—Will Heineken be looking for a shop to handle its Mexican beers?

OK, gang. I'll be on the 7:59 in the morning to report back to jury duty. I'll try to post if it's possible. Sorry to disappoint, if I don't.