Q&As

Sara Lee Foods kicks off summer with a Memorial Day rebate offer for Ball Park franks. The effort, dubbed Free Frank Friday, invites shoppers to buy a package of Ball Park Grillmaster Franks this Friday, May 27, then mail in a rebate form to get back …

Huggies has launched Baby Network, an online community for moms and moms-to-be, with a marketing and development spend that tops $10 million Baby Network is made up of two sites: “Happy Healthy Pregnancy” and “Happy Baby.” At the site, …

Carlson Marketing Group has hired auto-marketing veteran (and former client) Jim Schroer to run the Minneapolis agency. Schroer begins as president-CEO of Carlson on June 6, overseeing day-to-day operations and helping to set Carlson’s global strategic …

Spring Living from Crate & Barrel Home catalog Crate & Barrel greets spring this year with a bright catalog cover showcasing a modern tailored chair in white, complemented by a colorful, striped pillow. The “Spring Living 2005” cover is also punctuated …

Disturbing news from the media-buying front this week, folks: It seems that pharmaceutical players are cutting their television advertising, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Why did the pill companies pull back on their spots? Perhaps they reviewed the number of calls to fulfillment centers, or Web hits, when their commercials ran. They might have even been looking at that delightfully anachronistic metric, change in sales.

More isn’t always better. These days direct marketers have loads of data to choose from, but finding usuable information can be a challenge.

Hasbro celebrates Monopoly’s 70th anniversary with a sweepstakes that takes its prizes straight from the game board. Monopoly money now comes in green The Instant Tycoon game will award a grand-prize $15,140 — the amount of money in a Monopoly game. …

Procter & Gambles’ Crest is on the road with a giant tube of toothpaste rolling across America. Samples of Crest Whitening Plus Scope will be handed out to visitors from this rolling tube The Crest Imagine Tour is making stops at major events …

The Indy Racing League (IRL) is hitting Times Square on Monday for an event to raise awareness of its flagship race, the Indianapolis 500. The racecar of Tony Kanaan, who has the pole position for the race, will be in Times Square, as will the race’s …

Eastman Kodak Co. is leveraging its longtime alliance with the Walt Disney Co. for an on-pack sweeps celebrating Disneyland’s 50th anniversary. The sweepstakes will award trips to the original Disneyland in Anaheim, CA and the newest park in Hong Kong. …