Wordplay at breakfast: CBS has eye on “egg-vertising”
New York – In September, CBS plans to start using a new place to advertise its fall television lineup: your breakfast.
The network announced plans Monday to place laser imprints of its trademark eye insignia, as well as logos for some of its shows, on eggs – 35 million of them in September and October.
CBS’s copywriters are referring to the medium as “egg-vertising,” hinting at the wordplay they have in store. Some of their planned slogans: “CSI” (“Crack the Case on CBS”); “The Amazing Race” (“Scramble to Win on CBS”); and “Shark” (“Hard-Boiled Drama”).
Variations on the ad for its Monday-night lineup of comedy shows include “Shelling Out Laughs,” “Funny Side Up” and “Leave the Yolks to Us.”
George Schweitzer, president of the CBS marketing group, said he was hoping to generate some laughter in American kitchens.
“We’ve gone through every possible sad takeoff on shelling and scrambling and frying,” he said, adding, “It’s a great way to reach people in an unexpected form.”
The CBS ads are the first to use imprinting technology developed by a company called EggFusion, based in Deerfield, Ill.
FORT COLLINS
State’s wine industry generated $41 million
Colorado’s wine industry contributed more than $41 million to the state’s economy during the 2005 growing season, according to a new Colorado State University study.
The report, funded by the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board and the Grand Junction Visitor and Convention Bureau, found that sales of wine produced in Colorado directly accounted for $11.8 million, and $1.3 million came from the sale of grapes grown in Colorado. Employee wages, material and equipment purchases and tax revenue accounted for about $8 million. With the addition of wine-related tourism and recreational enterprises, the total contribution of the industry was $41.7 million.
DENVER
ProLogis buys centers and land near Atlanta
ProLogis, a Denver-based real estate investment trust focused on industrial sites, said it purchased four distribution centers and 115 acres of land near Atlanta. The company paid $60 million for the centers, which are 100 percent leased and contain almost 1.5 million square feet of industrial space, according to a statement Monday. ProLogis declined to provide financial details for the land.
DENVER
Trust offers grants for helping refugees
The Colorado Trust, one of the state’s largest foundations, on Monday announced it has earmarked an additional $3 million to help five unnamed Colorado communities develop programs to help immigrants and refugees become integrated into their respective communities.
The ongoing initiative, which began in 2000 and has already helped 10 Colorado communities develop similar programs, will award each community grants of up to $75,000 for four years. Proposals from nonprofits and governmental agencies are due Aug. 18.
COLORADO SPRINGS
Airport improves its terminal facilities
Colorado Springs Airport has completed the first phase of its terminal-improvement program, including new restaurants and gift shops, bigger waiting areas, a new screening checkpoint and a new baggage-inspection facility.
The second phase of improvements, to be completed by the end of next year, includes a new canopy system, new signs, roadway improvements and a waiting parking area. Separately, Moody’s Investor Service has affirmed its A3 bond rating.
DENVER
DIA seeks proposals for C’s concessions
Denver International Airport has issued a request for proposals for concessions on Concourse C, where Southwest Airlines started operations in January and continues to grow.
The four opportunities include restaurant/bar, quick-service food and beverage, and two specialty-coffee locations.
DALLAS
RadioShack CFO to join Western Union
RadioShack Corp. chief financial officer David Barnes will leave the electronics retailer and will join Greenwood Village-based Western Union as executive vice president for finance and strategic development in August.
LOS ANGELES
Class-action law firm pleads not guilty
A class-action law firm and two of its partners pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of secretly paying more than $11 million in kickbacks to get people to take part in shareholder lawsuits.
Also pleading not guilty in federal court were Seymour M. Lazar, who is accused of acting as a paid plaintiff in some of the firm’s cases, and Paul T. Selzer, who is charged with laundering money on Lazar’s behalf.
In a 20-count indictment prosecutors alleged that Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman, along with partners David J. Bershad and Steven G. Schulman, secretly paid Lazar and others since 1984 to act as plaintiffs in class-action suits against major corporations.
WASHINGTON
Cars’ fuel efficiency unchanged this year
The fuel efficiency of new cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. was unchanged this year as vehicles from Japanese automakers needed more gasoline to travel a mile, the Environmental Protection Agency said Monday.
The average fuel economy for 2006 model-year vehicles, based on combined city and highway driving, was 21 miles per gallon, five percent below a 1987 peak of 22.1 mpg, the agency said in an annual report.
TORONTO
Fun to operate Lycos Europe gaming sites
Canada’s Fun Technologies said Monday its subsidiary SkillJam EU will develop and operate pay-for-play gaming sites for eight Lycos Internet portals in Europe. Fun is 51 percent owned by Douglas County-based Liberty Media. Lycos Europe is one of the biggest gateway companies on the Internet in Europe, with about 30 million users per month. Terms of the deal were not released.
MINNEAPOLIS
Flight attendants, Northwest reach deal
Northwest Airlines Corp. reached an agreement with its flight attendants to cut pay and benefits by $195 million a year, averting a showdown over the bankrupt carrier’s plan to impose a new contract.
Northwest and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA negotiated the proposed accord in talks that extended through the weekend into Monday.
