Xtra

9/9

The Women's National Basketball Association has opened the second half of 2004 with new marketing relationships with Nike, Foot Locker, Dell and The Milk Board. The deals come on the heels of the USA Women's Senior National Team's gold medal-winning performance in Athens.

Hyundai Motor America is using color-changing coffee sleeves to promote its new 2005 Tucson SUV. The sleeves will be distributed to more than 2,000 upscale café locations nationwide during September and October. When placed around a hot beverage, the coffee sleeve transforms from black to a mountainous waterfall scene, providing the backdrop for the all-new Hyundai Tucson SUV and its new tagline.

Kraft Foods has put the “got milk?” trademark on packages of Oreo cookies — and on the cookies themselves. The deal between Kraft's Biscuit Division and the California Milk Processor Board, which owns the “got milk?” trademark, includes embossing the cookies with the tagline.

9/8

A California Court of Appeals has ruled that former baseball star Steve Garvey is not liable for statements he made while appearing in two infomercials for Enforma Natural Products weight-loss supplements. The decision limits the circumstances under which an advertising spokesperson can be held responsible for product claims, according to news reports.

Eric Kim, the global marketing chief for consumer electronics giant Samsung, left the company last week for a post as executive VP of marketing with data chip manufacturer Intel. Kim's responsibilities will be picked up by Gregory Lee, who joined Samsung as CMO in July.

Foodservice operators ranked Tyson Foods the No. 1 supplier, followed by Coca-Cola and General Mills. Suppliers named McDonald's Corp. the top operator, followed by Wendy's and Subway.

9/7

PepsiCo has named former Kraft Foods, Inc. executive Irene Rosenfeld to head its Frito-Lay division. Rosenfeld, 50, will be chairwoman and CEO of the $9 billion snack and convenience foods division. She succeeds Al Bru, who will retire Feb. 1 after 28 years with the company.

Campbell Mithun hired Miller Brewing Co. veteran Jack Rooney as president effective Sept. 15. He had been executive VP-client management at GMR Marketing since 2002.

Visa USA is targeting young inventors with an online essay contest dangling seed money to produce their inventions. The top 12 vote getters each win $25,000 to produce their invention.

9/2

J. Brown Agency let go as many as 40 staffers last week as part of a reorganization to fine-tune its infrastructure. CEO Tim Dorgan said 40 (about 40% of its 100-person staff) is “exaggerated.” The agency is hiring in Chicago and Stamford as part of its retooling, he added.

Capital One yesterday began mailing about 250 million gamecards to consumers dangling island-related prizes tied to its No Hassle Island Giveaway promotion. The grand-prize winner gets a private island plus spending money for a total value of $1 million.