The Juice from MindShare

Enlisting the crowds to resolve marital disputes

In even the best of relationships, disagreements are bound to arise from time to time. For those with no clear resolution, a new site offers a way for each member of a couple to tell their side of the story anonymously and let the crowds decide who's to blame.

Get Off the Internet, and Chew Some Gum

BORED subway riders and air travelers in major American cities might have noticed — right around the time they were itching to get back on an Internet connection — a series of ads encouraging them to “power down, log off, unplug ... make face time.”

Half world's population 'will have mobile phone by end of year'

The world's love affair with the mobile phone shows no sign of abating, with the head of the UN's agency for information and communication technologies predicting that there will be 4 billion mobile phone users - or more than half of the planet's estimated 6.7 billion inhabitants - by the end of this year.

Mobile big five band together on ads

The UK's five biggest mobile operators have struck a ground-breaking deal with the Internet Advertising Bureau in a bid to develop the nascent mobile advertising sector into a serious medium alongside press and TV.

MySpace unveils ad-funded music service

LONDON - MySpace has launched a new ad-funded music service today (Thursday) to rival iTunes. It will allow users to stream as many audio tracks as they want, paving the way for entire back catalogues of big-name artists to be hosted by the social networking site.

Visa Teams With Google for Mobile Play Using Android

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Life may take Visa, but life today for many takes a cellphone. So Visa is going mobile, striking a deal with Google and its new Android mobile operating platform that incorporates not only innovative mobile payment methods but takes advantage of new marketing technologies.

Kimberly-Clark Offers 'Consejos' to Latina Moms

Kimberly-Clark's Huggies and Pull-Ups are the brands behind a program launched this week, dubbed "De Mamá a Mamá" ("Mom to Mom"), designed specifically for Hispanic mothers seeking consejos (advice).

Europe's online advertisers to carry on spending

LONDON - The European Interactive Advertising Association has found something to smile about amid the current economic turmoil. Namely that 81% of web advertisers report an increase in allocated online adspend in 2008.

Cell Phones Used by 46% of US Tweens

Nearly half - 46 percent - of US "tweens" (those age 8-12) use a cell phone, and safety is the primary reason that parents cite for their childrens' having a mobile phone, according to Nielsen's newly launched Mobile Kids Insights survey, reports MarketingCharts.

Google Chrome Draws 2M Visitors in First Week

In the time between September 1 and September 7, Google's Chrome browser enjoyed 1.9 million unique interested visitors in the US alone, according to Nielsen Online, which tracked hits to Google Chrome's "thank you" page.

Intel campaign sends live voting info to tube screens

LONDON - Intel has become the first advertiser to use the ability to refresh London Underground digital screens in real-time with a campaign that shows who is currently topping its 'battle of the bands' style competition.

Managing a Blog Crisis Like a Pro

A blogger has just said something bad about your company and it's getting picked up and repeated by others rapidly online … what do you do?

Bebo founder to launch online video dictionary

LONDON - Michael Birch, the founder of social networking site Bebo.com, is planning to launch an online video dictionary, called Wordia.com, which will compete against sites such as Wikipedia and Dictionary.com.

Digital TV penetration accelerates

Figures from Informa’s Global Digital TV 8th edition show that half of the world’s homes will have digital TV by 2013. The report states that the worldwide total of home with digital in 2008 will be 343 million, meaning digital penetration of TV households will be at 24% by year-end.

ABC snaps up web comedy 'In the Motherhood'

NEW YORK - ABC has bought a 13 episode run of web comedy 'In the Motherhood', which was originally created to back Unilever's Suave shampoo brand. The series originally aired as short webisodes on MSN, which worked in partnership with Unliever and its agency MindShare.

Channel 4 and Bebo launch Battlefront website in bid to inspire young people

Channel 4 and social networking website Bebo have created a campaigning project aimed at inspiring teenagers to use the web "as a canvas for social change". Battlefront profiles 19 young people, including knife crime campaigner Alexander Rose, giving a platform to a range of social issues and providing free tools such as blogs badges and discussion forums.

Google activates new browser launch

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California: Within hours of Tuesday's news that Google was set to inaugurate its own web browser, came the launch itself – a beta version of Chrome available to all comers.

Kellogg: Digital ROI Surpasses That of TV

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- The digital divide is narrowing for Kellogg Co., which today said its return on online investment for the Special K brand has surpassed that of broadcast TV over the past 18 months.

Twitter users offered the chance to earn from ad service

LONDON - Micro blogging service Twitter might not have embraced advertising just yet, but another online start-up has come up with a way for Twitter users to make cash. Called Twittad the service allows so called Twitters to put advertising on their personal homepages.

Free phone love with a viral twist

Regular Springwise readers no doubt remember Blyk, the Finnish free mobile operator that targets 16- to 24-year-olds with its ad-funded service. We covered Blyk's British rollout on several occasions over the past year or so, and now one of our spotters has come across a similar concept that recently launched in the Philippines.