Verizon Goes for the Core in Yahoo Purchase - transforming itself in the process

Verizon Communications has purchased Yahoo's operating business for 4.83 billion in cash.Yahoo Japan and Yahoo's stake in Alibaba Group Holding are excluded from the deal.Verizon had agreed to raise its bid last week.Believed to be strongly behind the move was Verizon AOL CEO and Chairman Tim Armstrong,who has long sought Yahoo for its digital advertising business-even before the Verizon offer came along.Verizon had made a major transformative move when it purchased AOL last year for 4.4 billion.*
By purchasing the assets,Verizon gains access to Yahoo's advertising technology tools,BrightRoll and Flurry,as well as its email,search and messenger platforms;and content such as Yahoo News and Yahoo Sports.Verizon is looking to enhance its mobile video and advertising portfolios so as to make up for the slowing wireless business now at a saturation point.They also want Yahoo's scale,which will then drive the company's audience from millions to billions.*
The remainder Yahoo will become a publicly traded holding company with a different name.It will keep its Alibaba Group Holding Ltd 15% stake and 35% of Yahoo Japan,plus its convertible notes and some minority investments.The new Yahoo will be permanently structured to hold these legacy assets.Yahoo had been pressured by activist investor Starboard Value LP to jettison the core business.*
On Verizon's side,its head of product innovation and new business,Marni Walden,will become CEO of the combined firm.*
Verizon Communications Inc (VZ),Yahoo Inc (YHOO)

Should Omnicom Merge With Publicis

Madison Avenue advertising titan Omnicom and France's Publicis have announced their merger,resulting in a firm with a combined worth of just over 35 billion dollars,with more than 130,000 employees.The deal promises to achieve 500 million dollars in cost savings and a combined annual revenue of around 23 billion.The deal could face objections by regulators fearful of the decreased competition in the advertising industry that would result.*Omnicom CEO John Wren will eventually become sole CEO of the combined firm,and Publicis CEO Maurice Levy will be non-executive chairman after a period of being co-CEOs.The new company will be stronger in the emerging markets and better equipped to compete with Google and Facebook in the digital ad realm.Most of the time,Google collaborates with Omnicom,Wren said;sometimes it competes with us.*Omnicom faces a new world.Revenue is slowing down on the difficulty of adjusting to new places where the ads go,Google and Facebook's new way to advertise,according to Julie Roehm,Senior Vice President of Marketing at SAP.The merger makes perfect sense.It's a very good opportunity for them and their customers,taking the inefficiencies to invest them in big data and analytics.Mobile is a huge opportunity.Very few companies have cracked that code.They're going to take traditional creativity and merge it with the digital side.They are representing lots and lots of customers.They want to get ahead of the ball,Ms.Roehm noted.*Omnicom Group Inc(OMC),Publicis Groupe SA(Paris:PUB)

Inside the Deal:Should Yahoo Buy Tumblr

Yahoo is purchasing blog site Tumblr for 1.1 billion dollars.Should it be spending so much on a site that has made so little money?Tumblr is a platform that has revenue of only 13 million dollars.Is Yahoo crazy or something?
CNBC's Jim Cramer says Yahoo is buying relevance.Tumblr has the demographic 18-34,which Yahoo lacks now.Yahoo could use anything that shows it has a pulse.It's TV of the future.Budweiser,McDonalds and Procter and Gamble will advertise on Tumblr.
This is about mobile.They're getting an immediate plug-in into mobile,as 50% of Tumblr connections are on mobile.It gives Yahoo a massive footprint.It's a very smart move.
This is a new generation of leaders at Yahoo.You can't look at the past;this makes a lot of sense,according to Chris Cunningham,CEO of Appsavvy.We're talking about Yahoo.I predict a richer,more appropriate,user-centric vision.
Tumblr is not a tradtitional tech company,but a user compant that has a huge adult audience.Tumblr is cool,it's edgy.It makes sense.They're gonna work on the inappropriate content.Tumblr is a phenomenal company.Their road map,their vision stays on tap.
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said we have a global audience of more than a billion people with the addition of Tumblr.They get 24 billion user minutes a month.As we promised,we are not gonna screw this up.
Yahoo is increasing its New York presence,leasing four floors of the former New York Times headquarters building.
Yahoo,Inc(YHOO)

Who Sings on the Heineken James Bond Commercial

The song is called "Man Like That" and is sung by New Zealander Gin Wigmore,who will be 27 in June.The heavily tattooed artist was born Virginia Claire Wigmore.One of three children,she says she has been performing since around age 12.After a formative period in New Zealand,she found herself in Sydney,Australia,where she wrote an EP.This was followed by her first LP,"Holy Smoke,"which did quite well in New Zealand.
After briefly exploring the Southern US and its music scene,Wigmore headed to Santa Monica,California in the summer of 2011 to record her second LP,"Gravel and Wine."She's been touring Europe recently,especially Germany.She records for the Universal/Polydor label and much of her work is available on YouTube.
In 2010,Wigmore won Best Album and Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the New Zealand Music Awards.Her songs have been featured on TV in Grey's Anatomy,Teen Wolf and 666 Park Avenue,as well as the AMC FearFest and Weeds.
As a teenager,Wigmore had won the International Songwriting Competition in New York in 2004 for her song "Hallelujah,"inspired by her father's death from cancer.
The Heineken beer commercial features 007 actor Daniel Craig.

Who Sings on the Acura ILX Commercial

In this ad,an office worker gets up from his desk at the end of the day and heads through the office out to the parking garage.He drives off in his Acura ILX,the fun part of his life after a day of responsibility.The snappy song in the background is "Hit Me Down Sonny" by the English duo The Ting Tings.The Ting Tings hail from Salford,Greater Manchester.They formed in 2007.The song is from their second album,"Sounds From Nowheresville."(C)2011 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited.
The Ting Tings are comprised of Jules de Martino,about 43,and vocalist Katie White,about 29.Katie grew up on a farm.The Ting Tings are named after her former shop colleague.They won Best UK Video for "Shut Up and Let Me Go"at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2008.As well,they were nominated for Best New Artist at the 2010 Grammy Awards.
Sony(SNE)

Who Narrates The Pure Michigan Commercials

You may think it must be Cliff Robertson's voice in the "Pure Michigan" travel commercials.Think again;it's actually Michigan-raised and educated Tim Allen,59,star of the popular sitcom "Home Improvement."Yes,that's also Allen narrating the Chevrolet commercials.Denver-born Allen moved to Michigan as a child,eventually graduating from Western Michigan University with a BS in Communications and concentrations in radio and television production.
The comic actor's life had some missteps that were anything but funny.In 1978,25 year-old Allen landed in federal prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking.He served two years and four months there,having been arrested with cocaine in his possession.In  1997,Allen was arrested for DUI.He was sentenced to one year of probation plus substance abuse counseling.He recovered from these wayward acts and has sustained a high level of success in his career,recieving five Golden Globes and an Emmy award for his work,as well as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.Allen starred  in "The Santa Clause" film series and did voiceover work in the "Toy Story" films.He is currently starring in the ABC sitcom "Last Man Standing."
The commercials are the product of the McCann-Erickson subsidary of McCann Worldgroup,a leading marketing communications firm with offices in New York,Italy, Brazil,India and Singapore.The company pledges to transform its clients' brands and grow their businesses.

Who Sings on the Budweiser Super Bowl Commercial

The song on this beer commercial,which is still being run,is actually a mash-up of three different layers of music.The base of it is The Cult's 1985 hit "She Sells Sanctuary."On top of that is rapper Flo Rida's remix of Avicii's track "Good Feeling."That constitutes the other two layers of music,and is called "Flo Rida-Good Feeling Remix featuring Avicii."All of this music is available separately,as well as in the mash-up form,on YouTube.Surely it is one of the more complex audio productions to ever back a TV commercial.The commercial itself includes historical allusions to the end of Prohibition and the Apollo astronauts on the moon. The mash-up is controversial.Many of The Cult's fans detest it.You don't even hear Ian Astbury's vocals on the mash-up.The only voice you hear is Flo Rida's.Generally,however,the commercial has gotten a positive response for its innovative character and catchy music,bolstering Budweiser's reputation as a good times beverage. Budweiser belongs to the Belgian-Brazilian brewery Inbev.Anheuser Busch Inbev SA(BUD).

Who Sings On The KFC Chunky Chicken Pot Pie Commercial

A most effective use of the nostalgia theme was employed by KFC in its Chunky Chicken Pot Pie commercial,blending classic soul music,hair styles and a treasured automobile.The song is called "Time To Get Down" and was recorded by the O Jays for their "Back Stabbers" album on PIR(Philadelphia International Records)."Some things never go out of style,"the ad says-among them,this fine example of Philadelphia soul.It is the ultimate cool.
As part of the promotion,KFC held a "Bring Back a Classic" photo contest on its Facebook page,in which entrants were to submit a nostalgic photo from the 1970s-or a photo that evoked that era.The winner will be awarded a vintage 1970 bright red Dodge Charger,which is featured in the commercial along with the period attire and hair styles.
The African American actor in the commercial is Cornelius Smith,Jr.,who appeared in the soap opera "All My Children" as Frankie Hubbard.
The O Jays album is still available on amazon.com and the song is featured on iTunes and YouTube.The O Jays are performing to this day.
KFC is a subsidiary of Yum Brands(YUM).

Who Sings On The Citibank ThankYou Card Commercial

The Citibank ThankYou Card commercial joins soaring video with a breezy song.The song is called "Into the Wild."It is by the American singer songwriter known as LP(Laura Pergolizzi).
The video features professional climbers Katie Brown and Alex Honnold,not actors.They are shown climbing one of the Fisher Towers in the Utah desert,about 27 miles from Moab.The pinnacle Brown summits is not considered the most difficult climb at the Towers.Several other ascents there are regarded as being among the most challenging desert climbs.
LP has been prominent since 2006,although for some years she was better known for her songs written for or covered by other performers.Among those credits are recordings of her work by Backstreet Boys;Heidi Montag;Christina Aguilera;and Rihanna.
A New York native,LP now resides in Los Angeles.She's been touring very extensively over the years.You can sample her music on YouTube-including the Citibank track.
The commercial is quite an effective promotion for the credit card,perking groggy viewers up with an outdoor adventure.
Citigroup(C)

Shop Talk

Hello to Canada,where I advertised this week.It's fine to have you here,good neighbors.The aviators among you are surely among Canada's leaders.It takes a lot of skill and ambition to be a pilot-that's for sure.A business publication couldn't do better than to reach out to aviators.They have good executive qualities.No doubt many,if not most of them,have some interest in business news.Owning and operating aircraft is a business in itself.Have a rewarding weekend.