Crunch Puts Crimp in Luxury Ad Sales

Recall leaves company's reputation in tatters

(NEWSER) - Toyota is going to have to shell out for the biggest and best ad campaign in its history to have any hope of bouncing back from the recall disaster, ad industry execs say. The company—which is losing an estimated $400 million a week while sales and production are suspended—has suffered a multi-billion dollar blow to its brand and its future will hinge on how it responds, analysts tell Advertising Age . More»

Audience loyalty critical as online competitors gain ground

(NEWSER) - Variety will phase in a paywall starting today, a return to its pre-2006 model and a big gamble that its long history as the Hollywood daily will spur users to open their wallets. The site's traffic has increased since it became free, but it failed to attract a bump in advertising revenue, writes Jon Friedman. "We're not as concerned about traffic as other publications," said president Neil Stiles. "As long as we deliver to core people in the business, that's what our advertisers expect." More»

TV spots hint at hard times, and does it well

(NEWSER) - Advertisers trying to market to recession-bruised consumers could take a cue from Ketel One vodka, suggests Seth Stevenson in Slate . Rather than playing Debbie Downer and addressing the recession with coupons—or ignoring it entirely à la Grey Goose’s glamorous yachting women—Stevenson says Ketel One has made “an effective and fully internalized response to the crisis.” More»

Drug companies get behind health care reform, to Congress' concern

(NEWSER) - Drug companies have authorized their lobbyists to spend up to $150 million on TV ads supporting Barack Obama's health care reform plan—a surprisingly large sum that suggests the industry still has a deal with the White House on capping pharma's costs, reports the New York Times. A few spots that have already aired echo Democratic talking points about consumer protection and universal coverage. The connections run deep—one of the agencies involved is David Axelrod's old firm. More»

(AP) - General Motors says not enough of its bondholders agreed to swap their debt for company stock, meaning the troubled automaker is almost certainly headed for bankruptcy protection. GM has until Monday to finish restructuring or file for bankruptcy. But the company said today that its offer to exchange $27 billion in unsecured debt for 10% of the company's stock had failed. More»