Reality Series to Choose Next SNL Cast Member

Lorne Michaels, who we weren't sure was still alive, has decided to use the reality television genre to seek out his next SNL comic. He will reportedly play the now overdone Donald Trump-like overlord firing bad comics until there's just one comic left standing. Sound familiar? It should.

NBC has a similar show called Last Comic Standing. The SNL comic hunt reality series is set to debut next summer.

YellowPages.com Acquired By SBC and BellSouth

SBC and Bell South have created a joint venture that will marry YellowPages.com, BellSouth's SmartPages.com and SBC's RealPages.com into one very large national telephone directory which will debut early next year. MarketingVOX reports the deal is worth close to $100 million. The new corporate office will be created in Pasadena, CA for the operation.

Teens Girls Not As Fickle As Once Thought

Ypulse points to a recent study by Harris Interactive examining teenage girl's brand loyalty. The study found the teens have become so saturated with marketing they have turned into savvy, budget-conscious shoppers who will stick with a brand once they've found one they like.

BizNetTravel Relaunches Travel Log

Business-focused travel agency BizNetTravel has relaunched its travel log, a frequently updated compendium of travel topics including travel news, featured destination overviews, travel guides and advice from seasoned travelers. It is now written by Olivier Travers, a business consultant with a bent for traveling.

Peter Arnell Thinks Different

Writing in The New York Times, Stuart Elliot profiles Arnell Group's Peter Arnell who has, over the years, become known for his winning projects away from other agencies. Most recently, Arnell Group won an assignment from appliance maker Electrolux, currently with Lowe & Partners.

Arnell has also handled projects for Diageo, Mars, Reebok, Unilever and the not so great project for Diamler Chrysler now known as the Celine Dion Disaster. Nobody's perfect.

Arnell has moved beyond marketing and advertising and into product and store design as well. "In this iPod economy, clearly design has become one of the most important differentiating tools for brands," Mr. Arnell said. "It's a powerful place to be these days." Currently, Arnell is designing a store for Jacob the Jeweler in Manhattan and a store for Reebok's Rbk line of clothing in Philadelphia.

In an intriguing move, Arnell has taken on a project for Home Hero, makers of home fire extinguishers to make the products more fashion-friendly. Of the fire extinguishers, Arnell says, "it's so ugly, nobody wants to leave it on a counter. We need a product like what Braun did with coffee makers." Perhaps some things are just better left in the closet but he gets an A for effort.

Spammers Have Fun With Blondes

Blondes are good for more than fun according to spammers. A recent study from BlackSpider Technologies has found spammers who lace their messages with blonde jokes are more likely to have their messages pass through spam filters. Filter technology identifies email that contain blonde jokes as just friendly emails between friends and does not identify them as spam. Expect an increase in Jessica Simpson and Britney Spears "joke" email coming soon to an inbox near you.

POPstick Launches Social Network Marketing Product

Hoping to cash in on the popularity of social networks such as Ryze and Friendster as well as the Xanga and Livejournal blog communities, POPstick has launched POPstick Outburst, a social network marketing product that "entices consumers to participate in online communities centered on branding initiatives" Now if that sounds like a lot of marketing blather, check out the demo video.

The company also announced agency vet Steve Dworin as president. Dworin helped EURO RSCG move from a fragmented holding company into a single, cohesive worldwide agency with billings exceeding $8B, was once named the youngest CEO in the history of N.W. Ayer & Partners and was a partner at Deutsch/Dworin, now Deutsch, Inc., where he helped increase revenues from $30MM to more than $400MM in just three years.

If brands use Outburst to truly listen and monitor consumer insight regarding the brand, the move could be a success and very beneficial to both marketer and consumer. If, on the other hand, the communities devolve into yet another channel for brands to tout their product, they will be shut down by users faster than David Spade goes through girlfriends.

Mobile Bedroom Promotes IKEA Store Opening

Tian points out IKEA's use of a mobile bedrooms to promote a store opening in Tempe, Arizona. Tian reports the mobile bedrooms have been seen throughout the Phoenix metro area and on the streets of Tempe. The mobile bedroom is mounted on the back of a retrofitted Ford van, outfitted with IKEA's Fall furniture line and has two inhabitants in their pajamas going about their morning routine as onlookers watch. And no, they aren't doing that. This is a G rated promotion.

IKEA has used this modified out of home approach to advertising before.

Last month IKEA hung 39 mattresses from the ceilings of major Paris raliway stations

Nike Promotes New Shoe With Blaxploitation

Nike has launched a website called Shoxploitation to promote its new shoe, the Shox Neo. A video on the site pays tribute to the blaxploitation trend of the seventies and introduces the shoe's "playas" trailer style. The shoe hits stores this month.

Metro Says Vote Or Die

Metro USA teamed up with the Vote or Die campaign this Election Day, November 2nd, in an effort to motivate young Americans to vote. The national Vote or Die campaign has been powered by Citizen Change and produced by entertainer Sean “P. Diddy” Combs to combat voter apathy among young Americans.

Metro hand promoters were located throughout New York, Philadelphia and Boston and outfitted in Vote or Die t-shirts. The Vote or Die t-shirts were designed and supplied by Sean John clothing. The shirts have become popular by celebrities such as P. Diddy, G Unit’s 50-cent and influential public figures who want American youth to get out and vote.