ANA weighs FDA lawsuit over graphic cigarette pack warnings.

AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon-backed ISIS brings NFC swipe-and-payments to Austin, TX.

Barnes & Noble digital plan pays off (but at a cost).

Facebook seeks pre-IPO feedback from marketers.

Glen Campbell announces he has Alzheimer's.

GM woos owners of defunct car brands.Continue reading...

Michelle Obama is trying to woo kids to put down the cheeseburger and get moving in her Let's Move healthy kids campaign — even co-opting Beyonce in her anti-obesity campaign's latest effort: a May 3rd "dance-in" in America's public schools.

But the White House wants to put teeth in those efforts by regulating food advertising, yesterday announcing proposed federal guidelines for marketing food to kids. The biggest issue to come out of the "tough new rules," as the Wall Street Journal described them — when does a minor become impressionable by advertising?Continue reading...

Having just aired the fifth title in their movie-production partnership, Procter & Gamble and Walmart also announced that they’ll be delivering one made-for-TV movie to American families about every other month for the rest of the year.

A year after the two giants of their industries placed their first co-produced Family Movie Night production on NBC, P&G and Walmart have pronounced viewer interest and consumer acceptance strong enough for them to keep the franchise going.Continue reading...

The Association of National Advertisers recently filed a “friend of the court” brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in a key commercial speech case involving data mining.

Many in the advertising and legal communities are watching this case carefully. At stake is the hot-button issue data mining for marketing purposes protected by the First Amendment. It will also set an important precedent for the pharmaceutical industry, and the marketing and advertising industry in America.Continue reading...

Walmart's first Express mini-store is coming to Arkansas.

Morgan Stanley is preparing layoffs.

NPR Ombudsman will be interviewed by CNN's Piers Morgan tonight, as PBS confirms it was targeted by the same sting operation.

ANA responds to FTC on "do not track" issue.

BBC reports that its news crew in Libya was detained and beaten by Gaddafi forces.

Carlos Slim tops Forbes' 2011 list of world's richest; Bill Gates is #2.

Foursquare rolls out biggest product launch in its history, including deals-based "specials" for advertisers.Continue reading...

The Interactive Advertising Bureau just announced the "rising stars" of new ad units, including AOL's Project Devil format and YouTube's new billboard format, demonstrated in the video above.

But how to determine if they're effective? There is no consistent method for measuring the effects of digital media, even as it increasingly becomes the currency driving the industry.

That's why, just as apparel-makers are seeking to create a common set of metrics around sustainability, the three kings of marketing and advertising in the US (including the IAB) are joining forces to come up with a unified set of standards and metrics to measure the ROI of digital marketing.Continue reading...

Today the Association of National Advertisers, representing 400 American companies representing 9,000 brands that collectively spend over $250 billion in marketing communications and advertising, convenes its 100th annual conference.

This week in Orlando, the ANA is honoring ten companies and their marketing leaders as "heroes" who reinforce leadership practices in marketing, including executives from American Express, Coca-Cola, Combe, GE, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, marketing agency R/GA, Wrigley's, and Zappos. Dan Jaffe, ANA's EVP of Government Relations, is also being honored.

Also at the conference, the ANA (led by Bob Liodice, above) is issuing a call for action on measurement, in addition to releasing fresh research showing the impact of advertising on the U.S. economy.Continue reading...

* RIM falls to 17-month low as India's BlackBerry ban looms; suggests forum to resolve standoff.

* HP tops Dell's bid for 3Par again, this time offering $1.8 billion.

* Toyota and GM are recalling 1.3 million vehicles, impacting GM's Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Corolla and Matrix models.

* Google is testing real-time search - here's the link.

* All Nippon Airways is now Japan's top carrier, knocking JAL to #1.Continue reading...