App Revenue Is Poised to

…Surpass Facebook Revenue

More than a social phenomenon, Facebook harbors a lively and growing ecosystem of game and other application makers, ad networks and retailers of virtual goods. What happens when businesses running on Facebook become bigger than Facebook itself?

That could very well be the case in 2009. Facebook, which just surpassed 200 million global users, is expected to bring in about $500 million in 2009 revenue, mostly from advertising. Tech blog Venturebeat estimated that Facebook developers make a combined $500 million on the platform.

Ad Age estimates the collective revenue from Facebook of developers to be between $300 million and $500 million.

All in all, numbers big enough that Facebook is looking to cash in

Crispin Sells Its Interns on EBay

Marketers Pizza Hut, Philip Morris Not Welcome to Bid

We may be in a recession, but this year’s batch of Crispin Porter & Bogusky interns will be getting fatter paychecks. Not that the agency itself will be funding the pay increases for the 40 young talents who will slog away in its Miami and Boulder, Colo., offices on accounts such as “Guitar Hero” and Burger King. Rather, Crispin has launched an eBay auction for their services.

Entertainment A-List

No. 1: Universal Pictures

Dismissing Distribution Dogma Leads Universal to its Best Year

Imagine having to launch 20 new products a year, every two weeks or so, with no brand equity to help sell them, and with tens of millions of dollars in marketing on the line.

Welcome to Adam Fogelson’s life.

Happily for Universal Pictures, since Mr. Fogelson, 41, took over as head of marketing and distribution in 2007, the studio has enjoyed back-to-back record-breaking years at the domestic box office, with last year being the best in the studio’s history.

This Might Be an Ad That’ll Actually Get Click-Through

Why Apple’s Latest Online Spot From TBWA Is ‘Value Added’

The next 600 words nominally review the latest Apple ad, but actually they represent more of a bone toss.

The tossee is Randall Rothenberg, president of the Interactive Advertising Bureau. The … um … tosser is AdReview.

The reason is a friendly, ongoing dispute concerning the future of online advertising. The difference of opinion breaks down as follows: AdReview believes the internet will be at best a marginal ad medium, never to replace the venerable but collapsing Mainstream Media.

Delta Taps Wieden & Kennedy for Creative Duties

Independent Beat Out Omnicom’s BBDO Worldwide

Delta Air Lines has selected Wieden & Kennedy as its new lead creative agency, according to industry executives. The independent shop beat out Omnicom Group’s BBDO Worldwide for the business.

Both agencies referred calls to the marketer, which did not return calls as of press time.

Delta became the world’s largest airline last October after the Justice Department approved its $3 billion acquisition of Northwest Airlines. The airline launched a branding campaign immediately following the decision.

Delta Air Lines spent $61 million on U.S. measured media between January and November last year, while spending for Northwest Airlines was only $10 million during the same time frame, according to TNS Media Intelligence. Other shops that took part earlier on in the review included the incumbent, Publicis Groupe’s Digitas, with resources from sibling Saatchi & Saatchi; WPP’s Ogilvy & Mather; and Interpublic Group of Cos.’ Deutsch.

The Star of ‘Terminator Salvation’ and ‘Public Enemies’

Polls Low With Audiences After Recent PR Debacles

“You and me, we’ve been at war since before either of us existed,” declares Christian Bale in the coming film “Terminator Salvation” from Warner Bros. Pictures.

Mr. Bale is addressing a cyborg that thinks it’s actually human, but he could just as easily have been referring to the age-old battle between celebs and the entertainment journalists waiting to pounce on their latest missteps. Very soon, two Hollywood film studios will find out if Mr. Bale’s persona is still as radioactive as the band of nuclear-holocaust survivors led by the character he plays, John Connor. Warner will release “Terminator Salvation” on May 21, while Universal Pictures’ John Dillinger biopic “Public Enemies” from director Michael Mann hits theaters in July.

Microsoft Revenue Drops but Positive Perception Rises

Credits Windows PC Campaign for 10% Increase in Preference

For the first time in its history, Microsoft saw a year-over-year quarterly revenue drop — and it predicts a “long and gradual” recovery. Quarterly revenue fell 6% in its fiscal third quarter to $13.65 billion from the year-earlier quarter. Profit also took a hit, down 32% to $2.98 billion and 33 cents per share.

“While we’d all like to think our recovery will be soon and painless, we unfortunately believe it will be slow and gradual,” said Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell. “We expect trading issues to remain difficult through the end of next quarter and potentially through the end of this calendar year.”