Study: Skinny Women Better for Bottom Line

Researchers Find Thin Models Make Viewers Like Brands More, but Themselves Less

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) — Thin is still in for advertising, new research suggests, unless you’re trying to sell cookies or self-esteem. A study by business professors at Villanova University and the College of New Jersey, inspired by Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty,” shows that ads featuring thin models made women feel worse about themselves but better about the brands featured.

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Starbucks Posts Loss for Third Quarter CEO Schultz Cites Tough Economic ‘Headwinds’ but Says Customers Remain Loyal to Brand

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — Starbucks cited economic “headwinds” and restructuring costs for its dreary third-quarter report. CEO Howard Schultz, however, maintained that the company’s brand remains strong, and that customers remain loyal to Starbucks, even if tighter budgets keep them from visiting as often.

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Home Depot Puts $600 Million Marketing Account Into Review

Retailer’s New Procurement Policy Spares No One

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Home Depot said it is undertaking a wholesale review of all ad and marketing agencies working on its nearly $600 million marketing account. The review comes as part of a newly adopted procurement process at the Atlanta-based retailer that mandates a periodic review of all of the company’s ad and marketing services agencies.

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Microsoft Vista: It’s Not as Bad as You Think! But the Marketing Is Still Pretty Lousy

Adages

In its massively expensive and massively dubious attempt to reform image problems suffered by its Vista operating system, Microsoft has turned to a hidden-camera approach to show that its flop of a new OS isn’t as bad as you probably think.

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Victory!

Comcastmustdie.com Has Shamed Comcast Into a Modicum of Respect for Its Customers

Garfield the Blog

The blog Comcastmustdie.com was started 11 months ago as a way for disgruntled customers of the cable giant to vent grievances and possibly get Comcast to listen. While Bob Garfield, whose rants against Comcast started the “jihad,” says the company still sucks, it is investing a lot of money to build better customer-relations management and has turned a corner in its corporate culture.

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Team McCain: Obama Most Popular Man in the World Holds Conference Call to Further Expound on Britney, Paris

Campaign Trail

WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) — Sen. John McCain’s campaign wasn’t content with simply launching a new attack on Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama. The McCain team held a conference call to further accuse Mr. Obama of being “the world’s biggest celebrity.”

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Success Rarely Happens in a Comfort Zone

Push Your Clients, Your Employees and Yourself

Small Agency Diary

It is important that an agency help its employees avoid their comfort zone. This means its leadership must ensure its employees do not fear failure. In fact, an agency would be well served to reward those who continually push the envelope.

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Google CEO Worried About Decline of Investigative Reporting A 3 Minute Ad Age Video Report

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — The declining state of investigative reporting in American newspapers and other traditional media worries Google CEO Eric Schmidt. In his appearance at the recent Ad Age Madison & Vine conference, he surprised many with his lament that investigative journalism was fading along with the newspaper industry that once championed it. He consistently cited thin journalism from the long war in Iraq as proof of the problem.

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Expansion Team Goes Epic with Exodus

A civilization in the throes of destruction. A city on fire. Overhead a menacing starship watches over the catastrophe with a sinister calm. In the foreground, two lovers (or maybe siblings, who knows?), a blue bikini-clad damsel is held in a tight embrace by her massively-mulleted, shirtless male companion, who, incidentally, has tassels on his pants. Both are barefoot and floating in space. Welcome to Exodus. » Read more

People news from Wave, Organic and more London-based sound design studio Wave announced plans to open its new Amsterdam office in September 2008. In the process, the company signed sound designer Alex Nicholls-Lee to work out of the Amsterdam branch, which will service U.K. and pan-European markets . … Digital agency Organic promoted New York ECD Conor Brady (pictured) to VP, creative, where he will oversee creative work for all Organic clients and the Organic brand. … » Read more

Rolling Stone, MTV, Epic Fu?

Where is Web video’s Rolling Stone magazine? Epic Fu’s creators think they’re building it.

Case Study

Epic Fu is a Web video program that canvasses the Web and delivers news on Internet culture. Its creators have talked to TV networks, but prefer the freedom of the Web for now.

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You Suck, At Photoshop and Other Stuff Tutorial videos often run toward the dry end of the spectrum. Not so much with “You Suck at Photoshop.”

Featured Video

If you’re looking for “how to wash your dog” fare, look elsewhere. “You Suck at Photoshop” is an instructional video series with a little more bite.

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Convincing Clients to Buy Web Video

Even in 2008, Web Video can be scary for clients looking to place ads. Your arsenal of facts supporting a Web-video buy is expanding. How To Having trouble convincing a client that Web video makes sense in their advertising buy? Here are all the facts you need. FULL ARTICLE

MySpace Video Views Dive With TV Season’s End YouTube retains lead News News Corp.’s social networking site is raking in the video views with TV fare. When that tap dries up, traffic dwindles. FULL ARTICLE

More Proof: Ads in User-Gen? No! Hope dims for making money off YouTube’s library of user-gen videos. News A study tells us what we all suspected … if the video is home made, viewers can’t be bothered with advertisements. FULL ARTICLE

FTC Study: Dollars Spent on Marketing to Kids Much Lower Than Thought

Figure Drops from $10 Billion to $1.6 Billion

WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) — It turns out food and beverage marketers are spending $8.4 billion less to target children than initially thought. But some in Congress say it’s still too much. A Federal Trade Commission report on marketing of food products to kids features the first numbers gleaned from actual company marketing documents. The FTC report says food, fast food and beverage makers spent $1.6 billion marketing to children under 17 in 2006.

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If Automakers Thought June Was Bad No Relief in July as New-Car Sales Continue to Drop; but Prius, Compact SUVs Move Off Lots

DETROIT (AdAge.com) — Only one car company, American Honda Motor Co., is expected to show a rise in new-vehicle sales when otherwise bleak July results are tallied later this week.

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Schultz Announces 1,000 More Job Cuts at Starbucks

Senior VP-Global Strategy Michelle Gass Shifts Back to Marketing Role as Part of Reorganization

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said the coffee retailer will cut 1,000 jobs in addition to those resulting from the 600 store closures announced earlier this month. It’s unclear how many marketing personnel will be affected, but those familiar with the matter said some groups are facing double-digit cuts in what’s being described internally as a “bloodbath.”

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McCain’s Jukebox Stutters Again After ‘Obama Love’ Debacle, SFS Plays GOP Music Supervisor

Songs for Soap

We wouldn’t exactly call this an ideological repudiation, but John McCain got a slap in the face from the Warner Music Group for his “Obama Love” ad, which featured the Frankie Valli song “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.” It appears that no one ever cleared the rights to use this song, and the McCain team was forced to hastily replace the track with some soupy elevator tune that sounds ripped from some consumer-grade family home video soundtrack disc.

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What Marketers Can Learn From Twitter’s Stumbles

The Service Is a Victim of Its Popularity — and Its Unresponsiveness Is Costing It Fans

Commentary by Pete Blackshaw

Any fast-growing brand that’s seen its infrastructure quiver under the weight of widespread customer demand should look for a lesson on how not to do things in Web 2.0 darling Twitter.

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Deutsch Picks up Creative Duties for A-B But Brewer Declines to Reveal Which Beer Brands Interpublic Shop Will Handle

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — This Bud — or maybe Michelob, Busch, Rolling Rock or Land Shark Lager — is for Deutsch.

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