Event sponsorships have their unintended costs,
according to the New York Times. Stephanie Clifford reports on how Yum Brands CEO David C. Novak issued prepared remarks about the splendor of the Kentucky Derby, without knowing that NBC had just announced that injured horse Eight Bells had been euthanized. Yum Brands entered into the sponsorship three years ago because it thought the event could help it attract more individual shareholders. The
Times wrote that online commentators expressed anger at Novak's comments, but not
many blogs wrote about it.
Also:
Take-Two Interactive, $500 million richer, sues Chicago Transit Authority over pulled Grand Theft Auto IV ads.
Insiders don't expect Yahoo shareholders to mount a last-ditch campaign to force the company to reconsider the aborted Microsoft offer.
Report: Super Bowl ads are expected to cost $3 million in 2009.
Dr. Pepper Snapple Group – recently spun off from Cadbury –
will launch Venom, a super-caffeinated beverage, in the next few weeks.