Adverganza's Monday morning picks, 10.06.08

Wherein I scan the Monday morning headlines so you don't have to:

From Advertising Age:

—So, 78 percent of us have curtailed spending in the last few weeks. That ain't good.
—The consumer touchpoints of the Tampa Bay (no longer Devil) Rays.
—Cool chart of great deals at major retailers.
—Something about CPG margins, if you're a SKU wonk.
—Here's a PDF to Ad Age's annual A List. But, hey, I'll tell you the ten who made it, in order even: The Economist, Women's Health, Elle, Every Day with Rachel Ray, National Geographic, Fast Company, New York, People Stylewatch, House Beautiful, Conde Nast Traveler.
—Simon Dumenco's first annual American Magazine Vanguard Awards in which magazines, most of which you've never heard of, get props for expanding beyond the printed page.
—What your local ad exec thinks of the government bailout package.
—Wal-Mart is rocking the recession.
—Price of a 30-second spot drops 4.1 percent. In an irrational world, that seems, well, rational.
—Jonah Bloom on Kurt Andersen's "Very Short List." Dump all your feeds and read only one thing a day!
—Bob Garfield gives three stars to drinkability. Guess he was thirsty.
—It's not a water bottle, it's a "personal hydration vessel."

From Adweek:

—Ad industry strangely mum about the bailout bill.
—So, yeah, some ad agencies stand to lose some accounts what with all those bank consolidations.
—A few temperature changes at 72andSunny. OK, that was a dumb metaphor.
—Video beyond the pre-roll.
—Ex-WPP Italy exec Marco Benatti and WPP face off in court today.
—Google and Yahoo search deal isn't soup yet.
—It's gonna suck to have an automotive account in the near term.
—Online resources that help reporters out.
—Just because your religious don't worship at the alter of consumerism.
—Catching up with ex-Wieden creative Jim Riswold, who is still very much alive and making fun of Hitler in his spare time.
—Does Joseph Jaffe have money in his mattress?

From Brandweek:

—Just because nobody supposedly smokes anymore doesn't mean cigarette companies aren't great marketers.
—Should Wendy's be focusing on quality?
—Bailout isn't bad for Botox sales.
—General Mills and Kraft start word-of-mouth networks.
—Shaun White takes over "South Park" to launch his video game.

From Mediapost:

—Infiniti goes global. What do ya wanna bet the brand'll scale back its aggressive expansion plans?
—Kodak, via EVB, lets people become superheroes.
—Didn't know that chains like Panera Bread are referred to as the fast casual segment.
—AT&T in 3D!
—Procter & Gamble picks a Hispanic stylist to promote Head & Shoulders to the Hispanic market. Wow, how logical.
—That other Facebook founder leaves Facebook.
—Microsoft launches another search incentive program.
—Two rivals to WebMD merge.
—iPerceptions says advertisers should eschew display for text ads in the downturn.
—Gator is dead for good. Hooray!
—Read this story about Google TV.
—Vice presidential debate pulls in 69.9 million viewers; presidential debates pulls in only 28.6 million viewers.
—New York AG files suit to delay the launch of the Portable People Meter.

From Mediaweek:

—The AdweekMedia Hot List. Here's the list, in order, since you don't want to click through ten pages, do you? Better Homes and Gardens, Elle, Men's Health, Real Simple, Gourmet, Martha Stewart Living, People, InStyle, Entertainment Weekly, Cosmopolitan. For those keeping score between the two top magazine lists, there is only one book that made both lists: Elle. Ad Age named People Stylewatch, and AdweekMedia named People.)
—Feature on Real Simple.
—Screw AG Cuomo. The Portable People Meter goes live in eight markets.
—Advertisers not in panic mode ... yet.
—NBC primetime not the talk of the town.
—On the other hand, people are loving the football.
—The cable upfront was up 9.3 percent.
—Brides.com to do live streaming of bridal fashion shows.

From The New York Post:

—Story about Tina Brown's new thedailybeast.com. Hipsters are supposed to read it. Does anyone refer to themselves as a hipster?

From The New York Times:

—EBay cuts its staff by 10 percent. Says it's not due to the economic downturn. Hmmm.
—More on the opposition to the Google/Yahoo deal.

From The Wall Street Journal:

—Want to invest in an independent movie? Free.
—Is anyone interested in a $25 pack of razor blades? Free.
—Guess what? Saturday Night Live's ratings are up. Free.
—Cookbooks are hot. Free.


Much more to come ...