David Lee Roth to Replace Howard Stern

There are unconfirmed reports that former Van Halen rocker David Lee Roth will take over for Howard Stern when Stern leaves for Sirius Satellite at the end of this year. The report came from SteppinOutMagazine publisher Chaunce Hayden, a Stern regular who claims "an Infinity source has confirmed the signing."

Mini Drives Up Billboard

Minis don't just appear atop trucks driven around cities for onlookers to ogle, they also appear on billboards in New Zealand.

GAP Picks Michelle Williams As New Spokesmodel

Doing a search on Google, one might conclude the GAP should have chosen Michelle Williams, the Dawson's Creek star instead of Michelle Williams, the Destiny's Child singer for their new spokesmodel. While the GAP has acknowledged its intentions to use several celebs in succession for its ad campaigns, after just a few months of Joss Stone, one might conclude the GAP is suffering a seriously fickle case of ADD.

Eurostar Campaign Says 69 Best Price And Position

A Belgium ad campaign for travel site Eurostar is promoting a two-way, $69 ticket. Whether the price or the ad concept came first, you can be sure there were creatives at TBWA/Belgium and Hypervision running around the halls, shouting, "Dude, this is gonna fucking rock! Sixty nine Euros - I got the perfect concept!" The campaign consists of all sort of sexual 69 position imagery in print, outdoor and a viral site.

Nielsen to Interupt Viewers Every 42 Minutes

We are so glad we work in the advertising industry which, gleefully, keeps us out almost all survey databases and out of Arbitron and Nielsen survey pools. Especially since Nielsen will now be interrupting Nielsen people meter users every 42 minutes, reminding them to register their viewing. Previously, interruptions would occur only when the channel was changed. Isn't advertising a wonderful thing?

Study: Branded Entertainment Compliments Traditional TV Advertising

A recent study by ABC and OMD of 18-49 viewers of ABC's American Music Awards in November found a 34 percent lift in brand awareness among viewers who were exposed to both traditional ads and branded integration. ABC Senior Manager of Primary Research claims the tow forms advertising work together yielding increased results saying, "This project was demonstrative of the effectiveness of the effectiveness of branding content coupled with traditional TV advertising. The most important thing in terms of integration is that it's seamless and organized in nature, both with the program and the brand identity. Viewers are savvy and the more intrusive, the less effective."

MovieTRAY Contributes to Theater Advertising Insanity

It seems the proliferation of in-theater advertising insanity knows no limits. Theater Advertising Solutions LLC today announced a multi-year agreement for the distribution of a branded concession carry tray, called MovieTRAY, at all of Regal Entertainment Group's theaters nationwide. Under the agreement, Theater Advertising Solutions will be the exclusive provider of movie tray adverblather, further ruining the already horrifically advertising-drenched movie going experience.

Maybe Regal should consider selling the back of its seats to advertisers so adverbloated movie goers could at least get the pleasure of kicking the shit out of brands that would actually consider placing ads within movie theaters.

Kazaa Bitch Slaps Claria Over Separation

Kazaa is displeased with how it's been portrayed in the media surrounding Claria's termination of an agreement between the two parties. While the split has widely been attributed to Claria's ongoing mission to "clean up its act" leading many to interpret Kazaa might have, in some way, tarnished the Claria brand.

Kazaa, in a press release, claims the real reason for the split "followed ongoing issues between the parties relating to Claria's lack of performance of its obligations under the agreement and steps Sharman (Kazaa parent company) had already taken to investigate and rectify that performance."

Kazaa further claims, "Claria's announcement is contrary to its obligations under the agreement. At present, Sharman continues to perform its obligations whilst pursuing its options under the Agreement."

Fifty Percent of Sales Reps Useless

A recent poll by MediaLife found media buyers believe only half of all media reps have a clue and know anything about what they are selling. The biggest area of media buyer complaints centered on sales reps' wasting precious time with too many sales calls, unpreparedness and overselling. Granted, there are certainly a lot of clueless sales reps out there but we quite sure we'd bet sales reps would say there's some pretty clueless media buyers out there too.

Lee Iacocca Returns to Chrysler in Ad Campaign

Lee Iacocca, who uttered Chrysler's tagline, "If you can find a better car, buy it," in 61 commercials during his reign as turnaround CEO for the troubled car company, is returning as pitchman in a set of new commercials. The deal calls for Iacocca to appear, initially, in three spots with compensation in the form of a Chrysler donation to Iacocca's diabetes research foundation along with $1 for every Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep sold for the rest of the year.