Coke, Mercedes Avoid Gritty Film Cameos

‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Director Danny Boyle Says Brands Ask Out of Mumbai Slum Scenes

Madison & Vine

LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) — Filmmakers often try to incorporate brands into their projects to lend plotlines a sense of authenticity. But in the case of director Danny Boyle’s upcoming release, “Slumdog Millionaire,” the footage might be too real: In an interview with Advertising Age, Mr. Boyle said Coca-Cola and Mercedes-Benz demanded that they be excised from key scenes. Mr. Boyle (“Trainspotting,” “28 Days Later”) went to great lengths to make “Slumdog Millionaire” authentic: He spent a year in India shooting deep in the vast slums of Mumbai, a city where fully half of the 16.6 million denizens live in shantytowns, ghettos or simply on the streets.

In the romantic drama, out in theaters Nov. 12 from Fox Searchlight, a penniless 18-year-old orphan is one question away from winning the jackpot on India’s version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” When he is accused of cheating and interrogated by the police, flashbacks from his harrowing youth in the slums show how he actually learned the answers to the show’s seemingly impossible questions.

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Coca-Cola Still Classic

Just Not in Its Name / Brand Quietly Phasing Out Word After Two Decades

Coca-Cola says it’s clearly a classic in American’s hearts and minds, so the word “classic” is being dropped from its name. The brand plans to gradually phase out the word “classic” from its flagship cola products during the first half of this year. (Did you even remember “classic” was on the can?)

The word was added in 1985 to signal that the brand was using its original formula after consumers decried the introduction of a new recipe under the New Coke banner. The word “classic” has only been used in the U.S.

Coke Still No. 1 in Brand Value

IBM, Microsoft, GE Are Runners-up on Annual List

DETROIT (AdAge.com) — Coca-Cola is again the world’s most valuable brand, according to Interbrand’s just-released annual list of the Best 100 Global Brands.

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With U.S. Economy Reeling, Advertisers Pin Hopes on Emerging Markets China and India Still Strong, but Growth Slowdown Is Feared

HONG KONG (Adage.com) — The disastrous jolt to U.S. financial markets is putting pressure on multinational marketers to do well in big emerging markets such as China and India to offset the sluggish U.S. economy. Those markets are still growing, but if demand for Asian-made products drops significantly, consumer spending in Asia could dry up, too.

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Mother Picks up $60 Million Coke European Campaign

Summer Branding Effort Adds to Agency’s Portfolio of Coca-Cola Accounts

LONDON (AdAge.com) — Coca-Cola Europe has handed a $60 million assignment to Mother, London, with instructions to create a long-running pan-European campaign promoting Coke as “the drink of the summer.”

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Euro’s Esther Lee Steps Down CEO for North America Leaves Shop After Little More Than a Year

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — After scarcely more than a year, Euro RSCG North American CEO Esther Lee is exiting the agency because of what several industry insiders have billed as a clash of egos in the C-suite.

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Coke PR Exec Mattia to Retire in February

Tuggle Takes on Expanded Role

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Tom Mattia, senior VP-worldwide public affairs and communications at Coca-Cola Co., is retiring from the position he has held since January 2006. He will be succeeded by the man that he succeeded in the role, Clyde Tuggle, currently president of the company’s Russia, Ukraine and Belarus business unit.

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Coke Out to Acquire China’s Huiyuan Juice Group

Makes $2.4 Billion Offer in Effort to Grow Business in Country

HONG KONG (AdAge.com) — Coca-Cola Co., in an effort to expand its noncarbonated drinks business in China, is trying to acquire the mainland’s largest producer of pure fruit juices in a deal worth $2.4 billion.

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Outdoor Video-Ad Networks Seek Metrics Credibility A 3 Minute Ad Age Video Report

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — For all its success in spreading networks of screens throughout the public venues of American cities, the outdoor video advertising business is still struggling with audience measurement. Less than 20 months ago, the major video-network companies formed the Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau (OVAB). Its first priority was to develop a credible metrics system. That program hopes to release new guidelines later this year.

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Coke Eyes Marketing as Area for Cost Cutting

Ad Spending to Change as Beverage Giant Hopes to Save up to $500M a Year by 2011 NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Coca-Cola is looking to save between $400 million and $500 million a year by the end of 2011. And it’s looking to find some of those savings in marketing. FULL ARTICLE

Entertainment Will Be ‘First Through the Gate’ in Digital Economy Google’s Schmidt Praises Seth MacFarlane, Chides Resistance to New Technology From the Madison & Vine Conference BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AdAge.com) — Entertainment will survive a changeover to a digital economy; newspapers and “Old Hollywood” may not. So said Google CEO Eric Schmidt at Advertising Age’s Madison & Vine entertainment conference Wednesday, and, to prove his point, he broke the news that Google had just concluded a new advertising-driven deal with Lionsgate Films FULL ARTICLE

Arianna Huffington Imagines How to Beat Obama A 3 Minute Ad Age Video Report Video From M&V Conference NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — It was as strange a sight as one could imagine: Liberal internet publisher Arianna Huffington from the stage of the Beverly Hills Hotel described the marketing tactics John McCain should use in his quest to defeat Barack Obama. The surreal performance was part of a larger session at this week’s Madison & Vine conference that explored the campaign advertising strategies of the presidential candidates. FULL ARTICLE

‘Wall-E’ Gives Glimpse of Product Placement’s Future Movie’s ‘Homage’ to Apple Is Subtle, Considering Disney Pixar’s Ties to Brand YORK, Pa. (AdAge.com) — In Disney Pixar’s new movie, “Wall-E,” the female heroine is a shiny all-white robot with no seams or overt buttons showing. Remind you of anything? FULL ARTICLE

Most Say Ads a ‘Reasonable’ Cost of Free Online Video Survey: Viewers Most Amenable to Ads in TV Shows, Movies but Not Amateur Video NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Good news for the growing number of ad-supported video services popping up online: The majority of digital video consumers will find the inclusion of advertising a “reasonable” expectation for accessing free online video content. FULL ARTICLE

Nike’s ‘Just Do It’ Slogan Turns 20 Epic ‘Courage’ Campaign Aims to Recharge Inspirational Message NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Nike’s “Just Do It” theme is 20 years old, and the marketer is planning a push of Olympian proportions to commemorate its anniversary. FULL ARTICLE

Fast-Feeders Look to Allay Fears of Food-Borne Illness Chains Break ‘Quality’ Messages Highlighting Freshness CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — With widespread salmonella infections and growing concerns about how meat is raised and harvested, fast-food chains fear a hit where it hurts — the pocketbook — so they’re ratcheting up marketing messages about “quality.” FULL ARTICLE

How Will You Respond to Pricing Pressure? Not All Profit Is Created Equally Small Agency Diary We all want to make a profit. It’s the lifeblood of a business. It supports our growth. It pays for our raises and our bonuses. It funds new positions. The trick is that not all profit is created equally. FULL ARTICLE