Advertising Roundup: Oscar Ads, 'Diggable' Ads, Misleading Ads, and More

Oscars to allow movie ads — Since the 1950s, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has banned movie advertisements during the Oscars to avoid looking like it endorses particular films. Not anymore. Next year the Academy will let the movie promos in, albeit not without a slew of restrictions: Any mention of the words “Oscar” or “Academy Awards” is strictly banned. [Source: Adweek]

Digging for more ad revenue — Kevin Rose, co-founder of the social news site Digg, declared this week that it’s time for Digg to grow up. At the top of the agenda is increasing ad revenue. Rose speaking at the Future of Web Apps conference in London revealed one potential strategy — “diggable ads.” [Source: ZDNET]

NBC looks to advertisers to fund online shows — A-list talent is finally coming to the Web and NBC is wasting no time trying to capitalize on it. The company is hoping that big name celebrities like Radha Mitchell will convince brands to fully fund seven new online shows. [Source: AdAge]

Bayer’s Yaz ad goes too far — The FDA has drawn the line on Bayer’s ad for the birth control pill, Yaz. Bayer will have to pull the 60-second spot because the FDA criticized it for making claims the drug may not live up to, like eliminating PMS and acne. [Source: AdAge]

Yahoo’s problems mount — Wired reports that Yahoo may have a bigger problem on its hands than just its fledgling search business, which may or may not get help from Google. Now its “cash cow” — display ads, which account for 62 percent of revenues — is set to suffer as advertisers with smaller budgets increasingly favor performance-based search ads. [Source: Wired]