Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.ads,americast.usa-today.ads From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: ads Fri, Sep 25 1992 Date: Fri, 25 Sep 92 04:37:05 EDT Message-ID: 09-25 0000 DECISIONLINE: Advertising USA TODAY Update Sept. 25-27, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network BASEBALL RATINGS ARE DOWN: CBS' baseball ratings for the season have fallen to a 3.5 average after tying its all-time low with a 2.3 rating last Saturday. The 3.5 rating is a 30% decline since NBC had the "Game of the Week" in 1989. And ESPN's baseball ratings have dropped 29% in two years. DRAG RACING BEATS BASEBALL: In the key ad sales demographic of men ages 18 to 49, the 1.1 rating among that group for CBS' baseball was beaten by ABC college football (3.4), NBC drag racing (1.5) and the NFL on CBS and NBC (8.9). Richard Kostyra of the Walter Thompson ad agency says interest has shifted to football. He believes rights costs will have to be reduced dramatically. FOOTBALL RATINGS VARY: In the NFL ratings game, ABC's "Monday Night Football" is down 6%, TNT's Sunday night games are up 4%, CBS' are 1% higher and NBC's are up 3%. In pregame shows, CBS' "NFL Today" shows a 9% increase, compared to a 3% drop for NBC's "NFL Live," indicating fans watch "NFL Today" and tune to an NBC game. On Sunday nights, ESPN's "NFL PrimeTime"is beating TNT's "Stadium Show," 4.0-1.2. BUSCH IV TO HEAD BUD MARKETING: In a move to strengthen both its domestic and international capabilities, Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., has implemented organizational changes in brand marketing management. August A. Busch IV has been named vice president, Budweiser Brands, and will direct all advertising and marketing activities for the industry-leading Budweiser brand family. FOX DEBUTS NEW SHOWS: The Fox network is debuting several new shows in the next week. Among them: "The Ben Stiller Show," a comedy made up of satiric film clips, premieres Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET:PT; "Woops!," a sitcom about six survivors of an accidental nuclear war shows Sunday at 10:30 p.m. ET:PT. Also Sunday on Fox: The season premiere of "In Living Color" follows Stiller at 8 p.m. BAY AREA REVIEWER STARTS: Uniquely created for subscribers and advertisers, The Bay Area Public Reviewer features everyday Bay Area people describing their experiences in local restaurants, wineries, bed & breakfast inns, on vacations, cruises and more. Filled with reviews and interviews, The Reviewer is a monthly, oversized publication which lets subscribers participate in reviews. NEWSPAPER UPDATES CLASSIFIEDS: In October, the Idaho Statesman will unveil a redesigned classified section. The revamped section will contain more graphics and will feature "Wheels & Deals," a new picture page of two-column, two-inch auto ads for private party sales. A state-of-the-art digital camera that saves time by eliminating film processing will be used to photograph each auto. PIRATES USE JUNK MAIL: A novel tactic to draw minority fans to major league baseball games: Targeted junk mail. Minorities constitute about 27% of Pittsburgh's population, but only about 5% of the attendance at Pirates games. So the club targeted ZIP codes with high rates of minority households for mailings, offering a free $5 ticket and a sweepstakes entry. If it works well, other teams may try it. L.L. BEAN DODGES POLITICS: L.L. Bean, an outdoor gear retailer, is having a hard time maintaining its staid image. Linda Bean, granddaughter and heiress of the company founder, is running for Congress in Maine on a staunchly conservative platform - and filmed a TV ad inside a Bean factory. The company has told customers that it doesn't get involved in politics. AC&R GETS CHOSEN: AC&R Advertising:N.Y. has been tapped by Pro-Abit Co. B.V. to handle advertising for the licenees at Travel Fox footwear worldwide, according to Adweek. Leila Multer, director at marketing services at Travel Fox, said AC&R's work will appear in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. VISA HIKES AD BUDGET: Visa is hiking its ad budget by at least 25% in its fiscal year starting next month. Visa is attempting to boost brand awareness in an increasingly saturated credit-card market. Major corporations like GTE and GM have recently started issuing credit cards. Most of the added funding will be spent on TV ads, where Visa. GANNETT OUTDOOR MAKES TOY DEAL: Gannett Outdoor of Southern California has worked out a deal with Play Co. Toys in which Play Co. will contribute to Gannett Outdoor's "Adopt-A-Family" Christmas program. The toys donated by Play Co. will make up for the higher rates for advertising in the fourth quarter of 1992 as opposed to rates in 1991. Advertising Editor: Martin Baucom. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM