Under pressure to grow profits, Groupon won't repeat last year's mistake of running expensive — and controversial — ads during this year's Super Bowl. more ›

We received a press released a few weeks back that made us do a double take. The subject line: "Turn any Restaurant into a Breastaurant!" The release, advertising BreastaurantUniforms.com, a company founded by Terra Watson, a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, promises that restaurant owners can increase traffic by putting their waitresses in sexy, revealing outfits. After some quick mocking on Twitter, we let it drop like so many other bad ideas we get in our email - but apparently it's not dead. Consumerist reports today that these establishments are growing in popularity despite the recession, and new chains are popping up to compete with Hooters, the old standard. more ›

Trade shows always seem strange to an outsider - and the National Restaurant Association show, held in Chicago over the past weekend, was no exception. Most of these signs made some sense in context (though, the "vibrate your fat away" signs might not have) but for a member of the public, it looked like someone had gone mildly crazy. Our full impressions of the NRA show, including dining trends for the next year and a discussion of the new field of electronic menus and ordering systems, will be coming soon. But for now, enjoy the silly signs. more ›

Groupon, reacting to pressure, has decided to pull advertising from the website of The Apprentice, the reality show hosted by Fake Presidential candidate, Queens-born casino operator and real estate mogul Donald Trump. Trump has been reaping the whirlwind since taking credit for President Obama releasing his birth certificate two days ago. Trump has since opened a new line of attack on the President, questioning if Obama has the goods to be an Ivy League student, a move that CBS' Bob Schieffer said was "code for saying he got into law school because he's black. This is an ugly strain of racism that's running through this whole thing." more ›

It looks as though two of the three anti-abortion ads featuring President Obama's face and the tagline "Every 21 minutes our next possible leader is aborted" have been covered by opponents to the billboards less than a week after they were erected. The Tribune received a statement from a loose coalition of "social workers and community members" who didn't want their names used, claiming responsibility. more ›

A Texas-based anti-abortion group unveiled billboard ads on the South Side Tuesday featuring the face of President Obama and the tagline, “Every 21 minutes our next possible leader is aborted." more ›

As Evanston faces its multi-million dollar budget deficit in 2012, officials are looking into new ways to raise money for the city. Case in point: slapping advertisements along structures on the lakefront as a quick means to raise money. This week, the city council gave approval for staff to seek out proposals from third-party advertising vendors, who would be in charge of soliciting advertisements for different city assets in the downtown area and along the lakefront. Evanston residents could eventually see ads on recycling or trash cans in the downtown area, or on lifeguard stands or beach houses on the lakefront. more ›

Let's say you want to make your restaurant stand out. You could serve great food, lower your prices, or hire a new chef. Or, if you're La Senorita, a Northern Indiana restaurant group, you could create a series of billboards that reference the most famous mass suicide in modern history. More than 900 people died by drinking poison in the 1978 Jonestown disaster, so it's only logical that it could be used to sell drinks. Check out a picture of the billboard at the Lansing State Journal. more ›

Groupon CEO Andrew Mason offered an apology for the company's much-maligned Super Bowl ads, saying that the company will work to pull the commercials from circulation. more ›

Hot on the heels of the Groupon Super Bowl ad ca-ca comes this parody ad from Conan O'Brien. We think Coco and his writing staff pulled their punches here, but you decide. more ›

YUM! Brands, the Louisville-based parent company of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Long John Silver's, among others, recently pulled an ad that ran in Hong Kong for a fish sandwich marketed by KFC, featuring a black man acting as an obvious stand-in for President Obama calling for "change." The ersatz Obama is then squashed by a giant version of the fish sandwich. more ›

Before the Super Bowl, how many of you realized Groupon had a sense of humor? And that it could be pretty offensive to some? That's what we're guessing the water cooler conversation is this morning regarding the local daily deal company and its Super Bowl ads (we've included all of them below). They may have spent millions to advertise before and during the Packers' coronation, but the reaction immediately after the spots aired is the type of publicity that can't be bought. more ›

From the Chicagoist "tips" inbox (yes, we check it) comes this gem of a Google ad from reader James Chase. more ›

From reader "S M:" more ›

• Ald. Fioretti (2nd) suggested turning East McCormick Place into a temporary casino to help while the city looks for a permanent casino site.
• Some details are out about a pair of upcoming debates for U.S. Senate and Governor.
• The city got the go-ahead from the courts to relocate graves in the ongoing O'Hare Expansion Project.

That Colonel Sanders is a wily advertising pitchman. Remember almost a year ago when fast-food chain KFC offered to pay for pothole repairs in several cities, including Chicago, in exchange for the rights to display their logo on the repair? Pretty crazy, huh? In fact, a few cities took them up on the offer. And now KFC is pitching more towns - including a few in Indiana - on helping them pay for new fire hydrants and fire extinguishers in public buildings. The catch? Putting the KFC logo on the new hydrants. One might question the good taste of advertising "fiery" chicken wings on fire hydrants and extinguishers, but the two cities - Indianapolis and Brazil - are receiving $7,500 for the deal. Maybe KFC can get in on the whole CTA station sponsorship idea we keep hearing about. more ›

Earlier this week, we talked about the Cubs erecting a pair of billboards that would block the view of a rooftop on Waveland emblazoned with an ad for the Horseshoe Casino. Most fans remember the rooftop from previous years when it was painted red and featured the Budweiser logo on it. It seems the new chairman for the Cubs, Tom Ricketts wasn't pleased and Cubs spokesman Peter Chase said the team was: "looking to protect our corporate partner family who invest their resources with us to be our official sponsors. It's important that we protect our brand in the marketplace, protect the value of our corporate partners and protect against anyone trying to ambush our brand." Which seems to be a not-so-subtle way of saying, "We're trying to protect Budweiser." The team never had an issue with the large Budweiser rooftop sign, the bleachers at Wrigley are officially sponsored by Bud Light, and, well, we all know what kind of man Harry Caray was. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But what company is expected to become advertisers on the new billboards? According to CBS 2, Budweiser. more ›

Ever noticed that fast food never looks quite as... appetizing as it does in advertisements? We've all heard food stylist horror stories about shaving cream, glycerin, paints, oils and all the other fake things used to make food look just so for photo shoots. But this piece from The Guardian's food blog puts it all in perspective: side-by-side pictures of fast food advertisements vs. reality. Yuck. We're especially disturbed by number 4, the canned whole chicken. Though, we suppose anyone buying a canned whole chicken is getting what they deserve. If you're on a diet, bookmark this page - anytime you're tempted by fast food, just take a peek.
more ›

• The Brookfield Zoo has a new elephant.
• Two men were hospitalized in separate mugging incidents early this morning in the Roscoe Village neighborhood; police haven't commented if these are connected to the recent spate of muggings in Lincoln Park.
• A CTA worker has died of Legionnaire's Disease after apparently contracting it from being splashed by stagnant water while washing a train car. WBBM has more.

Is it only a matter of time before American pro athletes begin to look like NASCAR drivers, enveloped in countless sponsor logos? As the crap economy takes a bite out of team revenues, more and more are looking into alternate revenue streams. For the Chicago Bears, that means a new deal that will add sponsorship patches to the players' practice jerseys for Training Camp and the regular season. more ›

A chapter is closing in the history of Chicago advertising, after JWT’s North American president Rosemarie Ryan traveled from New York to Chicago Friday to deliver the news to the company’s 50 employees that the Chicago office would be closing. JWT has roots in Chicago date back to 1891, and the Chicago office has battled with the New York office throughout its history to shine as the crown jewel in the JWT network. At one time, the Chicago office was the largest office of the world’s largest advertising agency. more ›

Yelp!, the user content-generated website that touts itself as "real people, real reviews," has come under fire in recent weeks over allegations their advertising sales team has been contacting businesses offering to "move down" negative reviews of their establishments in exchange for advertising on the site. more ›

It seems the economic crunch might finally see Metra go back on their no-ads policy. On Monday, Metra began using a car featuring one of those full-wrap vinyl ads. Unlike the ones you'll see on the CTA for iPods or cell phones or movies, this one at least is for the Illinois Bureau of Tourism, featuring the likenesses of, among others, Presidents Lincoln and Obama. It's an attempt to increase non-fare income, according to Metra executive director Phil Pagano. Metra will see what public reaction is and how the ad holds up to the elements before moving forward with any other ads. more ›

The fine folks at North Shore Distillery (by the way, their Distiller's Gin No. 11, the second highest-rated American made gin— their Distiller's No. 6 is the highest rated) are looking for some good local artists to help them design some artwork for future advertising campaigns. To that end, they've decided to hold a contest to choose a winning design and want local artists to enter their best submissions. more ›

In a deal with Titan Outdoor, the CTA is bringing digital ad screens to train stations and even to some buses. The first sign will be tested on the No. 124 Navy Pier bus to see how durable the sign is. The CTA hopes to eventually put such signs on over 100 buses and in all 144 train stations where the signs will also alert commuters to the time until the next train's arrival. Money is the main reason for going digital as it could bring in an additional $10 million a year over the next 10 years for the CTA which we all know has no problem with funding whatsoever. more ›

The Tribune (via wire sources) reports today that MillerCoors is bringing back the "Tastes Great, Less Filling" tagline to its Miller Lite ads. more ›

While not necessarily trying to sell tickets or merchandise, per se, the Chicago Bears have nonetheless decided they need to ramp up an advertising blitz to remind Chicagoans that we're all part of the Bears. more ›

These ads for Americans for the Arts were created by Chicago's own Leo Burnett agency. It's goooood! more ›

Air travel! It just gets funner! Today's latest innovation: Ads printed on your boarding pass. Delta, American, Continental, Northwest, US and United have all signed on with Sojern, an Omaha-based company that puts "destination specific information" on airlines' websites. When you print your boarding pass from home, it now comes with weather info and a slew of targeted ads. more ›

The Kentucky bourbon brand erected a billboard across from Wrigley imploring, "Save our Ballpark's Name." The website listed on the sign, www.saveourname.com, includes a petition demanding that Wrigley remain Wrigley forever. Additionally, Beam will be handing out t-shirts and other paraphernalia around Wrigleyville with the "Save Wrigley" theme all summer long. But didn't the Tribune Co. already say that the Wrigley name wasn't going anywhere? Guess that's the problem when big corporations try to go guerrilla. more ›