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Horizon Inks $100 Million Deal With Clear Channel

Horizon Media has just inked a $100 million upfront deal—with a radio company? Well, yes and no. The media agency has just signed a multi-year, cross platform pact with Clear Channel, best known for its 840 radio stations in 150 markets. One might wonder, in this era of  intense competition from the likes or Pandora, Spotify and now Beats By Dre, if anybody needs to lock up radio GRPs ahead of time?

The Walking Dead Pranks NYC with a Grate Full of Grabby Walkers

You're walking along the streets of New York City, earbuds firmly in place, texting furiously and doing your best to ignore the press of humanity as it swarms around you … when the monster-movie version of the very horror you're seeking to avoid erupts out of a street grate. It would be enough to make you drop your skinny latte on your skinny jeans. Score another victory for prankvertising and AMC. For a moment there, I had forgotten about The Walking Dead, which shambles onward, entering its fifth season even as the zombie apocalypse genre is starting to feel like a rotten cliché.

Selling Exercise Equipment: Always a Heavy Lift

In 1932, Mrs. Gordon Bergfor of New York City learned from her doctor that she had a chronic neuromuscular disease. The only hope she had was finding an exercise machine that worked every major muscle group simultaneously. Unfortunately, no such machine existed at the time. Fortunately, Mr. Bergfor was a mechanical engineer and built his wife one himself. When neighbors and friends noticed the relief the device brought to Mrs. Bergfor, they asked for one, too—and the Exercycle hit the market. Tens of thousands sold.

This Social Marketing Firm Has Revolutionized How to Tweet Against the Competition

Specs Who Peter Friedman, chairman and CEO; Jenna Woodul, evp and chief community officer What Social marketing agency Where San Jose, Calif. Though it’s been around since 1996, LiveWorld has adroitly adapted to an ecosystem completely transformed by Facebook and Twitter. Mammoths such as Walmart, Procter & Gamble, Bank of America, Pfizer and Louis Vuitton now trust LiveWorld to manage their social media.

Upworthy Touts New Metric

Upworthy, the social cause driven content upstart, says the page view is a lousy metric. It also believes that time spend doesn't cut it either when it comes to gauging success for a Web publisher. So the company is offering up something different: attention minutes. Going forward, Upworthy says it's going to track total attention on its site and total attention per piece.

Ogilvy France's Chris Garbutt Heads to Shop's N.Y. Office

Chris Garbutt has been named to the new position of chief creative officer of Ogilvy & Mather East in New York, moving from his role as CCO of O&M France. Garbutt has been given a mandate to oversee creative across disciplines including advertising, customer engagement, public relations, digital, shopper marketing, branded content and entertainment. Garbutt, who has worked closely with O&M worldwide CCO Tham Khai Meng, will report to North American CCO Steve Simpson.

Carat Is the Big Winner in MasterCard's Global Media Review

Carat has won most of MasterCard’s global media business, with the exception of Latin America, which will remain at UM, sources said. Global media spending is estimated at $200 million, including $105 million in the U.S. alone. Sources identified the other review contenders as Omnicom's PHD; Publicis Groupe’s MediaVest; a team from WPP Group’s GroupM that was led by Mediacom; and the incumbent, Interpublic Group's UM.

Ad of the Day: Delta Shows Its Team USA Pride

Now that the Super Bowl ad bonanza is (finally) over, it’s time we all take a well-deserved break from obsessively tracking TV spots created for major sporting events. Just kidding! The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics are just a day away (although the opening ceremony won’t air until Friday—figure that one out), and while Sochi is still scrambling to finish preparations for the big event, here in the U.S., marketers have already kicked off an onslaught of Team USA-themed campaigns.

Ad of the Day: United Airlines Shows Its Team USA Pride

Now that the Super Bowl ad bonanza is (finally) over, it’s time we all take a well-deserved break from obsessively tracking TV spots created for major sporting events. Just kidding! The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics is just a day away (although the opening ceremony won’t air until Friday—figure that one out), and while Sochi is still scrambling to finish preparations for the big event, here in the U.S., marketers have already kicked off an onslaught of Team USA-themed campaigns.