Top Story

• MillerCoors buys local Super Bowl inventory for Apple Ale ads
  MillerCoors is buying regional advertising during the Super Bowl, working around Anheuser-Busch InBev's exclusivity on national spots during the game. The local spots will come out of WPP's Cavalry, a brand/media agency cooperative, and will launch Redd's Apple Ale, which is expected to compete against Twisted Tea and Mike's Hard Lemonade. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (12/17)     

Agency News

• Publicis acquires Outside Line, will place it with Saatchi
  Publicis has added to its network Outside Line, a U.K.-based experiential and social marketing agency, and will keep its management and integrate it within Saatchi & Saatchi. Clients of the agency include British Gas and Virgin Galactic. The move comes a week after Publicis acquired iStrat, an Indian digital shop, and continues a spate of acquisitions by Publicis and WPP, which are racing to scoop up the last remaining independent digital shops. MediaPost Communications/MediaDailyNews (12/14)     

• Other News

• Roth Partners adds 3 executives to help handle growth
  Adweek (12/14)     

Creative

• Jell-O spot offers chocolate pudding as key to stopping apocalypse
  A new TV and online spot for Jell-O pokes fun at the Mayan-calendar prediction of the world coming to end Friday by teeing up a sacrificial offering of chocolate pudding to appease the gods. The ad, which was created by Crispin Porter + Bogusky's Boulder, Colo., office, references the new tagline "Fun things up," by calling pudding the "funnest sacrifice ever." The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (12/16)     

Media

• Windows 8 ads bleed into magazines' table of contents design
  The adoption of Windows 8 ads' color scheme and design in some magazines' table of contents pages is raising eyebrows about editorial integrity. "There is a fine line between editorial innovation and ceding control to advertisers," says Esquire Editor-in-Chief David Granger, on the table of contents theme in magazines such as Fitness, Family Circle, and Better Homes and Gardens. A Meredith rep defended the practice, arguing that the page designs "demonstrate our brands' multiplatform reach and multichannel delivery, [and] they did not influence or change the editorial content delivered to our consumers." Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (12/14)     

• Other News

• ESPN to post college football highlight replays on Twitter
  The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/Media Decoder blog (12/14)     

Trends & Research

• Rewards, offers embedded in app ads increase engagement
  Consumers want in-app rewards for viewing an ad, according to analysts responding to several recent surveys. "Consumers are telling us that standard banner-based advertising on mobile isn't what they want, but that ad sponsored in-app rewards, or incentivized ads, are a more logical and effective way to connect with them," says Tapjoy's Patrick Seybold. A Kiip survey showed that offers led to higher engagement rates for brands such as Pepsi, which included coupons in ads. Mobile Marketer (12/14)     

Sponsored Content

Marketer News

• Lenovo teams with Funny or Die on fantasy football contest
  Lenovo is leveraging its NFL sponsorship by hosting a Lenovo Fantasy Coach Season Pass Contest in which fantasy football players can win trips to real football events. The technology brand is partnering with FunnyorDie.com on a humorous campaign in which pros are confronted by fantasy coaches regarding their performances. The winner of the contest -- which calls for players to write a short essay on their fantasy-coaching ability -- will be able to attend the 2013 NFL Draft, scouting combine, training camps, select home games, and the 2014 Pro Bowl and Super Bowl. MediaPost Communications/Marketing Daily (12/15)     

• Energy-drink marketers react to safety concerns
  Marketers of energy drinks are preparing to defend themselves against potential restrictive regulations and negative brand perception amid investigations into the safety of their products and alleged links to nearly 20 deaths. Energy-shot leader 5-Hour Energy has boosted ad spending and has included discussions of safety in online videos, while energy-drink maker Monster has pulled back on ads. "It's been a high-growth, high-profit category, and I think the threat of potential new regulations certainly creates a question mark," said Beverage Digest's John Sicher. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (12/17)     

Technology

• Wal-Mart experiments with prepaid Facebook ad blitz
  On Black Friday and the ensuing weekend, Wal-Mart ran Facebook's biggest-ever mobile advertising blitz -- a preorder of 50 million ads -- in order to edge out other retailers on the social network. The campaign generated plenty of consumer engagement, officials say, and Facebook is working with other big brands such as Samsung to create similar tailored ad campaigns. The Wall Street Journal (12/16)     

Association News

• Webinar Alert -- Working Together When You're Apart: Navigating the Virtual Workplace
  Mark your calendars! This 4A's webinar on Jan. 17 will reveal a new set of best practices for navigating the virtual workforce, including tips for solidifying a foundation of trust and giving and receiving feedback remotely. By setting clear goals and outlining a communication plan, every employee has clarity to be more productive and connected with the agency and client -- even from a distance.
  
  This webinar, led by Brad Karsh, founder of JB Training Solutions, is open to members and non-members. Reserve a spot now.     

• 2013 New England Institute of Advanced Advertising Studies
  The 4A's New England Institute of Advanced Advertising Studies (IAAS) has been training the best and the brightest in the agency business for more than 25 years. IAAS is a fantastic experience and resume builder for the next generation of advertising leaders, who will be able to pitch this year's client, the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse, at the end of the course.
  
  The program runs from Jan. 25 to April 26 and has limited seating.
  
  Visit the 4A's website to register now.     

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by 4A's SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• Search pros rank Grey, Wieden and BSSP as top agencies (MediaPost Communications)

• Futuristic Lacoste ad shows shirts changing colors with a hand swipe (Adweek)

• RPA's future could be on the line with Honda review (Advertising Age (tiered subscription model))

• Adweek honors Wieden+Kennedy's "exceptional" creative year (Adweek)

• Wieden+Kennedy helped Nike, Old Spice turn out YouTube hits (The New York Times (tiered subscription model))

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

SmartQuote

Action is the antidote to despair." --Joan Baez, American singer