Chief Marketer Staff

• CoolBrands Sues Weight Watchers/Well’s Dairy for $360 Million

  CoolBrands International, Inc. has filed a lawsuit against Weight Watchers International, Inc. and Well’s Dairy, seeking $360 million in damages over an alleged breach of a licensing agreement. The lawsuit, filed Aug. 11 in New York Supreme Court in …

• 3,500 Hyundais to Transport Olympic Athletes

  Hyundai Hellas is supplying a fleet of 3,500 Hyundais to transport athletes, VIPs, officials and journalists attending the Olympic games. As part of its sponsorship agreement with the Athens 2004 Organizing Committee, which Hyundai said is valued at …

• Taco Bell Does the Dew, Exclusively

  Fast feeder Taco Bell has entered into an exclusive deal with Pepsi, to make Mountain Dew Baja Blast available exclusively at its restaurants nationwide. Mountain Dew Baja Blast features a Mexican-inspired tropical lime flavor and a turquoise-green …

• Blockbuster Bows Online Rental

  Blockbuster this week launched Blockbuster Online, an Internet-based rental service that lets subscribers rent DVDs by mail. Subscribers pay a $20 monthly fee and get up to three DVDs at a time by mail. There are no return dates, limits on rentals or …

• FTC Settles with Alleged Pop-Up Spammer

  Software firm D Squared Solutions this week settled Federal Trade Commission charges that the frequency of its pop-up ads crippled some computers. The company used pop-up ads to sell its own pop-up blocking software (Dec. 16, XTRA). The FTC filed suit …

• IOC Appoints Marketing Director

  The International Olympic Committee has appointed Timo Lumme to the position of IOC Marketing Director. Lumme, 43 from Finland, joins the IOC from ESPN, where he worked as VP-Europe, Middle East and Africa since 2001. As a member of the ESPN …

• Time Warner Restructures Marketing Group

  Time Warner’s global marketing group will be restructured to strengthen its strategic and creative resources. The simplified structure includes the new position of chief creative officer and merges the sales and marketing functions. The mission of the …

• Loparo and Taylor Join AFL Staff

  The Arena Football League has named Michael A. Loparo and Charlie Taylor as VP-consumer products and director, partnership services, respectively. The two will be based in the league’s New York office. In this newly created position, Loparo will build …

• Bill Gives FDA Authority to Regulate Tobacco Marketing

  The U.S. Senate passed legislation last month that would give the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate the marketing and advertising of tobacco products. The bill, passed July 15, would ban the use of promotional items, restrict outdoor …

• Agencies

  Gillette Picks an Irresistible Face

  Matthew Sherwood, a 31-year-old computer technician, received a surprise visit from tennis superstar Anna Kournikova, who declared his face the most “completely irresistible” from more than 1,200 entrants a Gillette Co.’s sweepstakes. The Irresistible …