The 250 magazine members of the Magazine Publishers of America’s Publishers Information Bureau (PIB) service gained 17% in drugs and remedies ad revenue in the first half, to reach $1.1 billion. Last year, drug advertising in PIB magazines increased 19%.

Toiletries and cosmetics, food, apparel, retail and media are among the other categories showing significant spend growth in PIB consumer magazines.

“Marketers are recognizing that magazines excel in areas critical to success: building purchasing intent, increasing traffic to advertisers’ Web sites and stimulating search activity,” says MPA’s EVP/CMO Ellen Oppenheim, citing recent data along these lines from Deloitte and Touche, BIGResearch, Jupiter, Dynamic Logic and Marketing Evolution.

However, Nielsen reports that local magazines were down 5.2% (to $254.8 million), a result of declines in spend among print media companies, realtors, restaurants and tourism, according to Brian Lane, SVP/client strategy and development for Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

Also, B-to-B magazine spend decreased by 5.7%, to $2.1 billion. (Travel, media and building magazines were among the hardest-hit.)

Other media experiencing ad growth in the first half were national Sunday supplements (up 6.5%, to $548 million); outdoor (up 5.1%, to $1.8 billion) and spot TV markets 101-210 (up 3.2%, to $621 million).

However, 10 of the 16 media tracked saw declines. In addition to local and B-to-B magazines, these included: network radio down 8.5%, to $525.3 million; local newspapers down 8%, to $6.4 billion; national newspapers down 5.9%, to 880.6 million; local Sunday supplements down 4.7%, to $28 million; spot TV 1-100 down 4.6%, to $10.9 billion; network TV down 3.8%, to $12.1 billion; spot radio down 1.8%, to $3.4 billion, and cable TV down 0.3%, to $11.5 billion. Spanish-language TV was flat (up 0.2%, to $1.5 billion).

Overall spend was down 0.5%.

Spending was down in most major categories: automotive (-10%), department stores (-7%), automotive dealerships (-5%), and quick-serve and standard restaurants (both down 2%). However, pharmaceuticals and direct response products each grew by 7%, and wireless telephone services grew by 6%. Furniture store spending was flat.

In the automotive category, Ford’s slight increase in spending (up 2.1%, to $871 million) did little to offset a nearly 28% decrease at General Motors (down to $954 million), a 5.2% decrease at Toyota (down to $628 million) and a 4.4% decrease at Chrysler (down to $588 million).

Outside of Ford, Kraft was the only other Top 10 advertiser to increase spend (by just 0.4%, to $608 million). (Check the related chart on Marketing Daily’s home page for details.)

Product placements continued to thrive, at least on broadcast TV. Nielsen reports 17,731 PP occurrences in this year’s first half among the top 10 users, versus 14,643 during last year’s first half.

“American Idol” was again the #1 show for placements, with 4,349 for the period (versus 4,086 in first-half 2006). “Fast Cars and Superstars,” which premiered in June, holds second place, with 3,231 occurrences. Other favorite placement venues include “Amazing Race All Stars,” “Pussycat Dolls Present” and “Extreme Makeover Home Edition.”

Coca-Cola (3,054 occurrences) was the largest user of broadcast network placements. Others among the top 10 were Nike apparel (511), Dell (396) and Hewlett-Packard (315). Placements on cable networks declined, from 107,792 in first-half 06 to 92,925 in this year’s first half. “American Chopper” (29,476), “Dog the Bounty Hunter” (12,321), “Miami Ink” (10,892) and “Overhaulin” (7,556) were the placement shows of choice. Top users of these shows included brands like Orange County Choppers (apparel and motorcycles) and Oakley Sunglasses, although Nike also made the cable top 10 list.

“At this point, the big question is whether the FTC will block the merger altogether,” said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. “I think that’s a very real possibility.”

Rotenberg’s comment came on the heels of Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) announcing he will hold a hearing on the acquisition–probably in the fall. The investigation will address both consumer privacy and anti-competitive issues, a Rush spokesperson said. Rush chairs the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, which has jurisdiction over the Federal Trade Commission.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is also expected to schedule its own hearing sometime toward the end of next week.

“Online advertising is a relatively new industry, and policymakers understandably have questions about the acquisitions that Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL and other companies are making in this space,” said a Google spokesperson. “We are confident that our acquisition of DoubleClick will benefit consumers, improve privacy, and promote competition, and that it will ultimately be approved by the Federal Trade Commission.”

Yahoo this week completed its $680 deal to buy the 80% of Right Media it did not already own. The Google/DoubleClick deal is the only one for which the FTC has requested additional information.

“We have made inroads,” said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, which joined with EPIC and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group to challenge the deal as an unprecedented assault on consumer privacy. “Our message is clear, that this merger has to be rejected. I think there’s a growing groundswell of opposition. This may be the first serious challenge to Google” in the history of its business.

On Monday, Google announced it would shorten the length of time it keeps data-collecting cookies to two years. The European Union complained it was collecting data for too long.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Precursor President Scott Cleland released a 35-page white paper laying out why in his opinion the deal is a traditional horizontal merger to monopoly that will be blocked by the FTC because it “would lessen competition and harm consumers, advertisers and content providers” and give the combined entity the opportunity and incentive to “corner” the online advertising market by dominating all three sides: users, content providers and advertisers.

The white paper compared the Google/DoubleClick level of market concentration to one single financial services company owning the top 15 Wall Street banks/asset managers; 60% of the hedge fund and private equity industries; The New York and London stock exchanges; data providers Bloomberg and Factset; credit profile providers Experian and Equifax; and 60% of the Federal Reserve’s and U.S. Census Bureau’s raw market and consumer data.

Cleland also serves as chairman of the nonprofit Netcompetition,org, a consortium funded by telecom, cable and wireless companies to lobby against net-neutrality legislation. Google has a lobbying team fighting on the other side of the issue.

Dave Rooney, director of Chrysler Marketing and Global Communications, says the campaign follows several new vehicles over the past year, including a redesigned Pacifica crossover, the Aspen, and a redesigned Sebring sedan.

He also says that consumer perception of Chrysler product quality lags reality–not an uncommon condition in Detroit.

He says the new campaign is intended to encompass the idea that Chrysler offers “superior engineering and stunning design built around customers’ needs at a price that will surprise and delight.”

The integrated campaign comprises a raft of new TV spots, print ads, outdoor, events, Internet elements and direct marketing and promotional efforts.

The first spot is a 60-second brand advertisement touting Chrysler technology and using computer-generated images to show interior and exterior features of the 300 sedan, Aspen, Sebring convertible and Town and Country minivan. It closes with the entire Chrysler lineup and the tag, “Engineered Beautifully.”

The effort breaks tonight on “Boston Legal.” The network and cable media buy includes the finale of “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Office,” “The Tonight Show,” “Dancing with the Stars,” as well as ESPN and the Food Network.

Susan Thompson, senior manager, Chrysler Global Brand Communications, says the look and feel of the ad is reflected in all of the campaign elements.

Voice over touts power and fuel economy, the MyGIG entertainment system in Chrysler Group vehicles; and stability control technology. Ads conclude with the voiceover, “It’s the way our vehicles come together that sets us apart,” and the tagline “Beautifully Engineered.”

Ads to follow the national brand advertisement include an ad on fuel economy of the Chrysler Group fleet, individual product spots, and regional dealer ads. All of the ads feature the same voiceover and music.

Thompson says print ads will run in buff books, home and lifestyle books, golf titles, tennis, food and wine, and a variety of business magazines during the summer and fall, when the 2008 Town and Country minivan is scheduled to launch.

“Phase of the national TV campaign will include two new spots, one for 300 and Town and Country. The Town and Country launch will include diversity programs targeting Hispanics, African Americans and Asians.

She adds that the print executions for the “Engineered Beautifully” campaign will vary in tone–literally–depending on the magazine.

“They will be in great, bold colors, and interchangeable, depending on publication,” she says. “They will be in bright colors if it’s a design or style book. In business publications they will have a darker background.” The upper right-hand corner of the ads will feature technology notes describing features and refinements.

Per Thompson, Chrysler also will run a newspaper print effort in which a Chrysler Sebring coupe changes to a convertible as one moves from one page to the other. The ads will run along the bottom of the page. A separate buy in The New York Times puts the ad on the right-hand margin of several pages, so the vehicle’s hood lifts and retracts convertible-style as one turns the pages.

Outdoor billboards in bright colors for the Sebring convertible feature headlines like “Everything under the sun,” and “Top this.”

Chrysler is also doing a launch promotion for the Sebring convertible via a deal with Hearst magazines, Macy’s and Dior. Chrysler is running a six-page spread in June Hearst magazines that encourages consumers to download a Macy’s gift certificate for Dior. Dealership test drivers can redeem a coupon for Dior perfume.

Chrysler will also have a heavy involvement with golf, sponsoring the Chrysler Golf Championship, bringing the Sebring convertible to 12,000 local events, and eight regional events, offering 20,000 ride and drives.

Live at subwayfreshbuzz.com/freshfit, the initiative is the next step in the company’s promotion of a healthy and active lifestyle and follows the roll-out in March of the Fresh Fit menu. The site will offer exercise videos, which will be updated weekly.

Consumers can enter a sweepstakes there to be eligible to win prizes that include a trip for two to L.A. to train with Push.tv celebrity personal trainers. Other prizes include six-month memberships to Push.tv, popwerpush DVD trio sets, Trek bikes and Subway Fit Evolution T-shirts.

–Nina M. Lentini

J.D. Power creates a profile of the media habits of vehicle buyers. The pool is so large that the consultancy can intuit the kinds of media a buyer of a certain vehicle type will consume. MRI’s psychographic component of the study is gleaned from surveys on lifestyle and attitude. J.D. Power’s “Car and Truck Report” provides magazine and cable network consumption patterns for recent new-vehicles buyers. The MRI Psychographic Supplement to the J.D. Power report will be available in May.

Gene Cameron, VP of media marketing for J.D. Power, says before now psychographics weren’t part of magazine or TV audience studies of specific vehicles or vehicle segments. “We have been doing media studies for 17 years. It involves interviewing new-vehicle buyers and asking them what magazines they read and which cable networks they watch,” he says. “This is critical to automotive media buyers because media varies widely between types of vehicles.” He says J.D. Power provides a large enough sample to allow a broad look at cars of the same function and price that people actually shop.

Linking psychographics to media behavior by vehicle segment addresses a market more and more interested aligning vehicles to a psychographic target – people with specific lifestyles and attitudes — versus merely demographics. “We can now provide [marketers] with guidance on where and how to advertise to reach those specific customers.” he says.

The company says the new data integration was achieved through a statistical technique known as data fusion, which was applied in a proprietary manner by MRI. The psychographics will also be included in the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Online Media StudySM to be released in August.

The move comes three weeks after the company announced its 2007 advertising campaigns for Coors Light, Keystone Light, Coors (The Banquet Beer), Molson Canadian and Killian’s Irish Red, which featured creative work from DraftFCB-Chicago, Taxi New York and Avenue A|Razorfish.

Acknowledging that, combined, the African American and Hispanic populations make up one third of the U.S. population and that 21% of all U.S. males are Hispanic, the company sees a ripe opportunity to mold the brand identity of its Coors Light brand in a way that will most compel the ethnic consumer to identify with it, and then to purchase it.

“We tailor how we communicate that message to ensure it builds the personality of the brand and connects emotionally with multicultural consumers,” Mauricio Cardenas, chief officer, Latin America and U.S. multicultural markets, said in a statement. Cardenas assumed the role of chief officer, U.S. multicultural markets, as part of the strategic marketing reorganization.

The company declined comment on how much of the Hispanic and African American market share it currently claims or hopes to capture.

Coors is working with Bromley Communications on the Hispanic piece, which will be an integrated, bilingual campaign featuring the tagline “Refresca Tu Mundo,” an interpretation of the general market brand tagline, “The World’s Most Refreshing Beer,” which was introduced last month in conjunction with a targeted online campaign that reminds adult consumers to “Catch the 4:53 to Happy Hour.”

The Hispanic campaign will include TV, radio, out-of-home, event marketing, retail promotions and point-of-sale programs. TV spots will focus on young Latino male consumers’ passion for American football. They also will highlight Coors Light’s new product initiatives, which include the Cold Activated Bottle and the Frost Brew Liner.

The African American marketing and retail promotions are being handled by Street Source Agency, a division of The Integer Group, and will feature street-level marketing, radio, out-of-home and print ads in key markets.

Coors spokesperson Kimberly DeVigil says that many of the multicultural marketing initiatives will roll out this month, though Coors implements its marketing programs throughout the year.

That was one of the main messages from P&G CFO Clayton Daley, Jr., who spoke last week at the CAGNY conference in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Expanding on some of its biggest names, Daley said P&G’s new products rolling out in this first half of the year include Crest Pro-Health toothbrushes; a variant of its women’s Venus razor, Venus Breeze; and an Olay Regenerist Eye Derma-Pod–all products that will be priced higher than comparable ones and will follow a trading-up strategy to get consumers to spend more on everyday items.

Those new products and others, Daley said, will help spur sales growth 6% in 2007.

Judging by its razor strategy, P&G didn’t pay $57 billion for Gillette just for its blade business, but for Gillette’s marketing expertise as well.

Part of its plan: to continue using Gillette’s past launch strategy of introducing a high-priced, publicity-worthy razor and gussying it up with different-color handles and other non-essentials for a few years before rolling out the next razor innovation–which has essentially consisted of an extra blade or two, or a vibrating handle.

As for upcoming items in the category, P&G said last week it plans to wait several years before launching an entirely new brand, but will add enhancements to the Fusion razor over the next few years. And at the moment, P&G is doing just that with its launch of a black-handled version of the Fusion men’s power razor called Phantom, which is an extension of the five-bladed Fusion with separate trimming blade–and its original silver and orange handle–launched in January 2006.

Also in the works before June, Daley said, is a full restage of P&G’s top-selling hair care brand, Pantene; a citrus Head & Shoulders–its dandruff shampoo brand, which has seen sales turn around with newer products; a new Cover Girl mascara; Cascade with bleach, and in paper, Charmin Trial Packs–a category which can be more profitable to P&G than to its competitors because of its sheer size and negotiating power with paper suppliers.

Nonetheless, P&G is still looking to high-end beauty products and health to drive growth as well, which had not been a focus. Just last month, P&G acquired the prestige skin care line, Doctor’s Dermatologic Formula, from a private equity firm–and also entered into its first celebrity fragrance licensing deal with singer Christina Aguilera under its Prestige Products unit.

Marketers are not shy about targeting kids for everything from automobiles to toothpaste. But just how deep is kid influence on adult purchases? According to new research by Experian Simmons, one of every three parents is significantly influenced by their kids when it comes to choosing brands.

The influence crosses multiple categories–from food, shoes, clothing, toys, autos, music, and cell phones to all manner of entertainment.

At 35.8 million strong, kids comprise about 12% of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Packaged Facts estimates the buying power of kids ages 3 to 11 will grow to $21.4 billion in 2010, up from its present $18.3 billion. Often, marketers bypass parents and target kids directly, but it’s worth knowing something about the parents who are swayed by their kids.

“The parents who are most easily influenced by children also tend to be highly receptive to advertising,” said Max Kilger, chief behavioral scientist at Experian Simmons. These so called “child influenced shoppers” are: