This week in Advertising Age:
Where the rubber doesn't meet the road -- While erectile dysfunction ads have become as common as cell phone ads on television, the networks have been much less receptive to condom ads. Companies such as Church & Dwight Co.'s (NYSE: CHD) Trojan are eager to make buys during shows such as the new CBS show Swingtown, but face stiff opposition from the networks.
Free bikes in Chicago? In Paris, outdoor advertising company JC Decaux (EPA:DEC) maintains a fleet of 10,000 free bicycles on the street that are available for free use by anyone for 30 minutes, and longer by rental. The city repays Decaux by granting it exclusive rights to market at more than 1,000 publicly-owned sites around town. Chi-town mayor Richard M. Daley recently visited Paris to check out the idea for possible adoption back home.
Advertising Age speculates that, as private takeover money dries up, established companies such as Proctor and Gamble (NYSE:PG) and Unilever (NYSE:UL) might find a good climate to expand their holdings by adding some boutique businesses. Examples used are P&G's $40 million purchase of Doctor's Dermatological Formula and Unilever's stake in Lumene.
The launch of video game Halo 3 has dominated the gaming world headlines, and AA reminds us that around 30 companies are offering tie-ins, most notably Mountain Dew, 7-Eleven, Pontiac, Burger King (NYSE:BKC) and Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Burger King especially seems to have figured out how to get a bump from such tie-ins.
Britney Spear's tragic performance at the MTV Awards was a godsend for Viacom (NYSE:VIA), as the MTV web site experienced a 340% boost (8.7 million viewers) in visitorship the day after her debacle compared to the same day one year prior.
The week in preview: Focus returns to earnings: Alcoa, Chevron, Family Dollar
Comfort Zone Investing: Survival of the fittest -- letting some banks fail
Three All-American stocks for portfolio fireworks
