Television Advertising

In the olden days, peddlers of miracle cure-alls traveled from village to village in donkey carts. Now they use late-night cable TV commercials. "You need to discover the ancient Japanese secret to perfect health!" declares the perky announcer for Kinoki foot pads, a product that treats diabetes, arthritis, backaches, cellulite, high blood pressure, insomnia, headaches, fatigue and mood changes, according to the commercial. All you have to do is place the pads on the bottom of your feet before going to bed and the product "naturally draws toxins out of your body as you sleep," the announcer proclaims.

When veteran Los Angeles news anchors Harold Greene and Ann Martin were felled by a round of jobs cuts last week, they were in good company. At least 160 employees at CBS Corp.-owned television stations in 13 cities were let go, including such seasoned broadcasters as prominent Chicago anchor Diann Burns, renowned Boston sportscaster Bob Lobel and longtime Minneapolis meteorologist Paul Douglas.

On the fourth floor of an office building in this green Connecticut town, Sarah Martin goes to work every day as a television watcher. She doesn't mind watching "Ellen" and "Lost." She hates the days she has to sit through "American Chopper." Unfortunately, she can't fast-forward.

A big-budget movie that glamorizes Australia would seem to be a perfect commercial for Australia. Especially if it's made by a famous Australian director who's working for a movie studio controlled by an Australian-born media mogul. And now it will be. Baz Luhrmann, the Australian director of the 20th Century Fox period piece "Australia" due out in November, has agreed to adapt the movie for an advertising campaign to lure tourists to the land down under.

Photos flash of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Crowds roar and lights pop. "He's the biggest celebrity in the world," says a woman's voice. Then it becomes clear: The TV ad is not about a tabloid personality -- it's about Barack Obama. In launching a negative ad Wednesday that it says will run in 11 states, John McCain's campaign gave its clearest signal yet that its main focus right now isn't talking about the presumed Republican nominee.

Spanish-language broadcasters in the U.S. project their political advertising sales will soar this year as the presidential candidates woo Latinos in states that have a chance to tip the election. "We are significant players in the battleground states," said Philip Wilkinson, chief operating officer of Entravision Communications Corp., owner of 51 Spanish-language television stations.

From "American Idol" to American pitchman: Onetime contestant Sanjaya Malakar is back on television selling Nationwide Insurance in a new ad that's part of the Columbus, Ohio-based company's campaign, "Life Comes at You Fast." Malakar says that's something he knows from experience. In a statement, he points out that he went from an unknown singer to appearing before of millions of people on "Idol."

A newly formed conservative political group is spending $2.8 million to air the first tough general election ad attacking Barack Obama, questioning his relationship with a founder of the 1960s terrorist group Weather Underground. Obama's aides denounced the spot, calling it illegal. They likened it to the 2004 Swift Boat Veterans for Truth assault on John Kerry's military service, which some Democrats believe cost Kerry the election, and charged that Republican John McCain was behind it.

NBC Universal, the television network that just broadcast the most-watched Olympic Games, said it had sold 85% of its commercial spots for Super Bowl XLIII and might sell the rest by year's end. NBC executive Seth Winter said the network had gotten as much as $3 million for a 30-second ad to be aired during Super Bowl XLIII, which will take place Feb. 1 in Tampa, Fla.

YouTube has changed its "community guidelines," and among the changes handed down is a prohibition on videos containing "drug abuse." The phrase, like other parts of YouTube's rule set, came with no context, elucidation, examples or anything else that would help users figure out what "abuse" might actually mean in practice. Of course, the subjectivity of YouTube's language is deliberate.