
Tourism Toronto seeking partners for cultural enhancement program
To lure more tourists, and entice them into staying longer, a million-dollar fund will match initiatives dollar for dollar.

Appearances and disappearances – Eloda ad analysis Oct. 20-26, 2006
P&G was still number one last week, but there was a lot of movement – with Ford, Sobey’s and Effem Foods dropping out of the top 15, and Hasbro, General Mills and GlaxoSmithKline reappearing.

The O.C. goes broadband before primetime
Networks claiming ‘firsts’ in the growing world of broadband content in Canada is not new. This deal, though, gives Canadians The O.C. online first.

Which shows hit BBM/NMR’s Top 30 for Oct. 16-22?
The usual suspects – the C.S.I.s and Desperate Housewives – continued to camp out in the top spots.

Look – up in the sky – Saturn’s got a brand new aura
So you’re tooling along Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway when you suddenly spy a billboard on which a silver sedan is lit up like the 1st of July. What gives?

Eye Rock Digital aims to reach men with sexy VOD and IPTV
EyeRockDigital.com is about to offer some sexy stuff, but nothing raunchy. They’ve signed an international Playboy model to host the network and lined up 5,000 hours of video in a bid to attract the young, affluent, and technologically savvy.

Product placement in books – a concept whose time has come?
MiC brings you a few views on connecting with today’s readers – and letting non-literary marketers in on the action, as Random House is doing with its new e-lounge.

Nielsen Media Research Spend Trend: Pets
Companies that market products for the most pampered members of the family put the bulk of their ad dollars into TV – the ideal medium for strumming heartstrings with visuals of frolicking puppies and kittens.

MiC‘s K-I-S-S Pick: cyber lullabies
To promote the launch of a new Huggies infant diaper, Mindshare found a way of engaging new mums while they’re engaged with their new babies.

FashionTelevision launches 5-channel VOD player
FT just became the most accessible fashion brand in the world.

MTV gives broadband-only treatment to music awards
Three streaming video feeds on MTV Overdrive – and you’ll have to wait more than a week to see it on the regular old tube.

Metro Daily now offering pullout ad sections in four top Canadian markets
CIBC, HBC, BMO, WestJet, Air Miles – some big names are jumping on the new ‘short-tabs.’

CTV Travel re-branding pushes ‘escapist entertainment’
Getting viewers to tune in for practical travel pieces just ain’t what it used to be. In an age when travelers are increasingly turning to the Internet for more practical travelogue-type info, CTV Travel is morphing into Travel + Escape, an Oct. 30 re-branding that adds more character, more edge and more ‘experience-based’ content for advertisers wanting to get in on adventure. GAP Adventure is the first to sign on.

PMB Factoid
Married people drink more wine than beer. Single people drink more mixed liquor. Same sex partners drink more, period.

Wal-Mart TV has a spot for you
Soon you’ll be able to speak to consumers as they’re trolling the aisles of Wal-Mart. When Canada’s first supercentre locations open next month, they will accommodate a new in-store TV network that will broadcast advertising and company information.