By Kathy Bergen
Tourists pose for photographs in front of "The Bean" in Millennium Park, Jan. 28, 2010. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago and New York tourism officials announced Tuesday their first-ever collaborative effort to lure visitors to their respective cities in the dead of winter.
The Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau and the Chicago Office of Tourism joined with NYC & Co., the organization that markets the Big Apple, to secure discounts on American Airline flights between their cities during the traditionally slow post-holiday months. Get the full story »
Oct. 18, 2010 at 5:57 a.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing,
Computers,
Internet,
Software
By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
A scene from the Facebook app FarmVille which was found to share private info with marketers. (Facebook)
Many of the most popular applications, or “apps,” on the social-networking site Facebook Inc. have been transmitting identifying information — in effect, providing access to people’s names and, in some cases, their friends’ names — to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found.
The issue affects tens of millions of Facebook app users, including people who set their profiles to be completely private. The practice breaks Facebook’s rules, and renews questions about its ability to keep identifiable information about its users’ activities secure. Get the full story »
By Wailin Wong
A mobile application that combines games and perks at local businesses is launching Wednesday in Chicago with the Chicago Office of Tourism and other area institutions.
SCVNGR is the latest location-based service to enter the Chicago market. These apps, which allow consumers to “check in” at local businesses, have become increasingly popular, thanks to the rise of companies such as Foursquare and Gowalla. Yelp and Facebook have also added location-based features to their offerings. The SCVNGR app is available for both the iPhone and Android-based phones. Get the full story »
By Ameet Sachdev
The American Medical Association has been sued for using a girl’s image without authorization and in a false light in a marketing campaign launched in 2007, aimed at motivating politicians to tackle the issue of Americans without health insurance.
One of AMA’s print advertisements featured a girl named “Toya.” The ad says that Toya has a “severe” problem but her parents can’t afford health insurance. The same picture of Toya was featured on the AMA’s web site under a section called “stories of the uninsured.”
A Cook County lawsuit filed Friday said that Toya is China Travis, a girl from the Chicago area who has done some modeling. Her mother, Angela Wonsey, claims the ad is misleading and defamatory because Travis does not have a severe health problem and both of them are not “uninsured.” Get the full story »
Oct. 12, 2010 at 5:50 a.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing
By CNN
Gap's old and new logos.
The Gap is reverting to its classic logo after a new logo it debuted on its Web site ignited a customer backlash. The apparel maker, famous for its chinos and jeans, said late Monday that it would no longer be using the new logo and was going back to its original. Get the full story »
By Reuters
Advertisers should steer clear of saying their products are “environmentally friendly” or “eco-friendly,” the Federal Trade Commission said in proposed rules put out Wednesday.
The agency, however, did not weigh in on other terms — “sustainable,” “natural” and “organic” — because they are the purview of the Agriculture Department. Get the full story »
By Dow Jones Newswires
It looks like PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division is giving its SunChips bags another make over — only to make sure they are less noisy.
Frito-Lay hopes to quiet complaints about the chips bags by switching out the biodegradable bags for older packaging on most flavors, AP reports.
The change comes after consumers had grumbled about the loud crackling sound the biodegradable bags made.
The company is switching back to original packaging, which is made of a type of plastic, for five of the six varieties of the chips, AP says.
Oct. 5, 2010 at 6:01 a.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing,
Food,
Restaurants
By Emily Bryson York
A recommended San Francisco ban on kids' meal toys, which would affect primarily McDonald's. (AP)
San Francisco’s planning commission has recommended a full vote on a partial ban on toy sales with children’s meals at fast food restaurants. The proposed legislation would make it illegal for toys to be given alongside kids’ meals that didn’t meet certain criteria.
The city’s board will take a full vote that could result in legislation in a few weeks. As the biggest player in this space, Oak Brook-based McDonald’s is at the center of this storm. Get the full story »
Oct. 4, 2010 at 11:16 a.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing,
Media,
Sports,
TV
By Reuters
Fox Broadcasting has sold about 90 percent of the commercial time for Major League Baseball’s World Series, with automakers, phone companies and financial services firms buying advertising for postseason games. Get the full story »
Sep. 27, 2010 at 2:29 p.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing,
Food
By Julie Wernau
POM Wonderful isn’t quite as wonderful as it claims, the Federal Trade Commission said Monday, after filing a complaint that challenges the company’s statements that pomegranate can prevent and treat everything from heart disease to erectile dysfunction.
The agency called the claims — found in advertisements in print publications and on the Internet — “false and unsubstantiated” and based on flawed medical research.
In a story this March, the Tribune named POM Wonderful as one of several products on the market that made health claims in its advertising that are permissible only for FDA-approved drugs. Yet, POM Wonderful has staked its name on the fruit’s health benefits. According to POM Wonderful, since 1998 the company has paid $34 million to support pomegranate-related research at universities and by other scientists, yielding approximately 55 published studies. Get the full story »
Sep. 23, 2010 at 7:08 a.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing,
Beverages,
Food,
Restaurants
By Emily Bryson York
Free Bud, Sept. 29. (AP)
This Bud’s for everybody. In response to slipping sales, Anheuser-Busch is handing out free beer. The company will host a “National Happy Hour” on Sept. 29, according to several news outlets, in an attempt to woo some consumers to its brew, and remind others why they used to drink it.
“On-premise sampling is the old standby of point-of-purchase sales tactics,” Beer Business Daily editor Harry Schumacher noted in an email to subscribers this morning. “You buy people beers in bars, they like it and they like you, and then it drives off-premise sales.” Get the full story »
Sep. 22, 2010 at 11:25 a.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing,
Earnings,
Media
By Associated Press
The New York Times Co. said Wednesday it expects to show a loss for the third quarter, with newspaper advertising still in decline.
Unlike the prior quarter, the Times Co. said that growth in digital ad sales will not make up for declines on the print side. Making matters worse, the company expects a drop in revenue from subscription and newsstand sales. Get the full story »
Sep. 16, 2010 at 10:22 a.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing
Oak Brook-based McDonald’s was ranked the world’s sixth most valuable brand, according to Interbrand’s ranking of the top 100 “Best Global Brands” released on Thursday. Coca-Cola was the world’s most valuable brand for the 11th straight year, and HP entered the top 10 for the first time.
Sep. 15, 2010 at 5:14 p.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing,
Internet
By Associated Press
A Craigslist official told lawmakers Wednesday that the classified ad website has no plans to resume its adult services section and defended the company’s efforts to stop the sexual exploitation of minors.
But William Clinton Powell also told a House Judiciary Committee panel that people seeking to advertise adult — or sexual — services will now simply migrate to other Internet sites.
Sep. 15, 2010 at 7:01 a.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing,
Beverages,
Food,
Sports
By Associated Press
Pepsi is back in the game. The soft drink brand will advertise in next year’s Super Bowl after sitting out last year for the first time in more than two decades. Pepsi said Wednesday it will air three ads created by fans for its Pepsi MAX brand. The company has been marketing its no-calorie version of namesake Pepsi to counteract Coca-Cola’s fast-growing Coke Zero.
