PROMO Xtra

Excerpts from our e-newsletter

12/15

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. will halt a promotion that couples cigarettes with heavy drinking. The promotion targets young adults and has come under attack from three state attorneys general, as well as public advocacy groups.

Source Marketing CEO Howard Steinberg will retire at the end of the year, leaving President Derek Correia in charge of the agency.

Burger King Corp. is rolling out a burger to feed king-sized appetites, the Triple Whopper with cheese, to help generate buzz over Universal Picture's new film King Kong.

12/13

Starting Jan. 16, CBS will brand water coolers in some 1,300 Duane Reade and Rite Aid pharmacies in the New York and Los Angeles areas via “Coolertising” to promote a new comedy The Jenna Elfman Show, debuting next month.

McDonald's Corp. is backing the 2006 FIFA World Cup with a global sponsorship that will include ticket giveaways, online games and new product offerings.

12/8

Panasonic is out with a game of mystery that revolves around its TV ads showing a funeral procession with a mysterious woman walking behind a hearse wearing dark sunglasses and a bright red dress under a black coat.

Sony Pictures Entertainment will replace Geoffrey Ammer as president of worldwide marketing at Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group.

12/7

Food and beverage marketing to children under 12 leads them to eat more high calorie foods with low nutritional value, a report released by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies has found. The authors stopped short of saying that TV ads are a direct cause of the epidemic of obesity in children, but said that the connection is strong.

Advertisers focus more of their marketing efforts on people who kids believe are the main influencers behind certain entertainment categories, including music, fashion and sports, according to a new study.

12/6

Just eight days before the national release of King Kong, a 6,000-pound gorilla (a statue, that is) took over New York City's Times Square to generate excitement for the film.

Hard Rock International is breaking a new $12 million ad campaign to boost brand awareness. The “You Know Who You Are” campaign kicks off Dec. 12 with TV spots on CNN International, which reaches 2.5 million hotel rooms in 168 countries.

Sales in schools of full-calorie carbonated soft drinks were down sharply between 2002 and 2004; sales of other beverages were up in the period, according to a study by economist Robert Wescott.

To receive PROMO Xtra, visit promo-magazine.com