What to expect from A.G. Lafley as he retakes the reins of the world's largest advertiser? 

A year ago, on the day of his induction into the American Advertising Federation's Hall of Fame, Mr. Lafley was interviewed by Ad Age Editor-in-Chief Rance Crain. He shared his insights on how the company sought to slow things down, focus on the fundamentals and simplify itself. Under Mr. Lafley, P&G's sales and more than doubled its billion-dollar brands to 23 from 10. 

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Bob McDonald has stepped down as chairman-CEO of Procter & Gamble Co. to be replaced by his predecessor, A.G. Lafley. Mr. McDonald, in less than four years on the job, saw the company lose ground to key rivals and weather heavy investor criticism.

Despite investor pressure, the timing of the move, which is effective June 30, came as a surprise. Mr. McDonald and Chief Financial Officer Jon Moeller had been pointing to momentum behind the company's nearly year-old turnaround plan, most recently at a Goldman Sachs investor conference last week. While down from recent highs, the company's stock was still up 26% on the year, just behind the S&P 500.

Mr. McDonald, 59, was scheduled to speak at a P&G alumni reunion in Geneva, Switzerland, on Saturday. In an odd parallel, Mr. Lafley made an appearance at a P&G alumni reunion days after he took charge of the company for the first time, in 2000.

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McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson delivered a pointed retort to critics at the chain’s annual shareholders meeting Thursday morning: “The way you describe us is not who we are.”

Mr. Thompson was responding to critics who say the chain markets unfairly to kids and exploits children of color in its marketing. Corporate Accountability International, a consumer advocacy group that routinely criticizes McDonald’s for marketing to kids, was on hand at the meeting to confront the company about its marketing and issue a proposal. Like last year, CAI brought a proposal up for vote that would call on the company to issue a report assessing the chain’s impact on public health. And like last year, it was struck down, this time with 6.3% of shareholders voting for the proposal.

After Mr. Thompson was asked by a CAI representative when the company will stop targeting kids and undermining childrens’ health, he said: “The way you describe us is not who we are.”

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ALLISON ARDEN

Encouraging news came earlier this year when McCann released the results of a study out of its Truth Central initiative: four out of 10 consumers say they "love" advertising -- and 69% said they think advertising has the power to make the world a better place. 

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How does advertising perform in a social-media world? How can you build a cohesive social strategy? And what are the hidden influences that shape your organization's creativity?

These topics are explored in three winning research papers, released by Advertising Age today. The papers were awarded honors from Advertising Age, the American Academy of Advertising and Temerlin Advertising Institute at Southern Methodist University in a competition to uncover the best academic thinking around marketing and advertising business problems.

Ad Age is committed to bringing the that thinking to its professional audience, and to encouraging productive interaction between the academic and business communities. So in 2012, Ad Age partnered with the Temerlin Advertising Institute at Southern Methodist University to sponsor a research-paper competition for the American Academy of Advertising, an organization of advertising scholars and professionals with an interest in ad education. 

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Michelle Gass, a longtime Starbucks executive is leaving to join Kohl’s in the newly-created role of chief customer officer.

The Ad Age Woman to Watch honoree had just this month been tapped to work with CEO Howard Schultz at the company’s Seattle headquarters as part of a senior leadership team. She leaves a 16-year career at Starbucks, where she most recently headed its Europe, Middle East and Africa unit. In contrast, her new role at Kohl’s, based in Menomonee Falls, Wisc., will be exclusively domestic -- the third-largest U.S. department store chain operates 1,155 stores in 49 states.

Ms. Gass, who will report directly to chairman-CEO Kevin Mansell beginning next month, will be responsible for marketing, e-commerce and omnichannel experiences. The retailer has been without a chief marketing officer since Julie Gardner departed late last year. It’s unclear whether that role will remain unfilled, given Ms. Gass’ responsibilities for marketing.

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Kmart’s “Ship My Pants” campaign was a huge viral success, so the retailer’s attempting to capitalize on the buzz with the release of another video ad.

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What happens when you put 600 candy marketers in a room with thousands of retail buyers? A sugar-filled pitch-a-thon where no packaging detail seems too small or sales stat too regional.

"We dominate North Texas," Mike Sanderlin said at this week's Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago when asked about his cotton candy brand, called Cotton Candy A La' Cart. His pitch? Unlike other brands, it is packaged in transparent bags so "the kids can see it."

Like so many others, Mr. Sanderlin is looking to close deals at the three-day event, which is expected to draw some 15,000 people from across the globe. Buyers are seeking the next big thing in candy, while marketers large and small are hoping to fill orders as fast as they can. All the while, mascots like a walking Sour Patch Kid roam the exhibit hall, which is filled with enough free samples to induce a weeks-long sugar high.

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Walmart has hired Dan Bartlett, the head of public-relations firm Hill & Knowlton's U.S. unit, as exec VP-corporate affairs.

Mr. Bartlett, 41, who also worked on former President George W. Bush's presidential and Texas gubernatorial campaigns, will start in late June, Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart said today in a statement. He will oversee external communications, government relations, sustainability and the Walmart Foundation, the company said.

Mr. Bartlett replaces Leslie A. Dach, a former Democratic strategist, who announced he was leaving in March. Mr. Dach had previously held senior positions in Democratic presidential campaigns and handled work for the Clinton administration. He also was vice chairman of Edelman, a global public-relations firm.

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Among leading industry observers and the media, there's widespread consensus that dramatic changes in the business landscape have made the role of CMO ever more complex. Globalization and technological advances have left organizations struggling to adapt their strategies to meet the heightened expectations of consumers. These developments have created more dynamic and potentially more profitable opportunities for companies that can infuse marketing into every facet of the enterprise.

While the challenges are widely acknowledged, solutions have proved to be in much shorter supply. Prescriptions have ranged from replacing the CMO with a chief customer officer to doing away with the CMO altogether. It's little wonder, then, that many CMOs are struggling with the lack of concrete direction about what their role should be, let alone how to make a tangible impact on the organization.

To address these challenges, we created the CMO Program. A critical component is to instill a broader perspective among CMOs for the complexities of global opportunities. Accordingly, we have assembled a roster of instructors that include leading faculty and practitioners from Fortune 500 companies. The course, developed for future leaders of Fortune 500 companies across a range of industries, combines the latest research and insight from academia, mentoring from CMOs and CEOs, as well as hands-on problem solving to build capabilities through experiential learning.

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The debate over the value of mobile advertising typically focuses on what effect, if any, it has on brand lift, sales and getting consumers into stores. But advertisers have been wasting money on mobile in the literal sense because a significant portion of the ads they're paying for never properly display on devices.

Now, networks and publishers are being pressured to more accurately report how well they deliver ads in an attempt to legitimize the industry and increase mobile-marketing spending.

Apple's iAd earlier this month became the first major mobile-ad network to be fully accredited by the Media Ratings Council as adhering to the standards the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Mobile Marketing Association jointly released earlier this year.

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World Nutella Day will likely survive after all.

The fan-led event, which celebrates the hazelnut spread annually in February, seemed threatened when the event's founder, Sara Rosso, said earlier this week that lawyers for the brand sent her a cease-and-desist letter. She blogged about the letter, drawing plenty of media coverage and outcry from Nutella fans who wondered why the Ferrero-owned brand would want to stop the grassroots effort, which seemed to only bring good PR. But in a blog post today, Ms. Rosso said Ferrero employees "reached out to me directly after I had posted my fan letter online" and that "they were very gracious and supportive and we were able to have a productive discussion about World Nutella Day living on for the fans, which is the whole point."

She also posted a statement from Ferrero, which described their initial letter as a "routine brand defense procedure." Here is Ferrero's full statement. (Ad Age confirmed its authenticity with the marketer's U.S. division.):

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Dairy Queen is launching an ad campaign next week in hopes that it can turn once-a-month visitors who see it as an ice cream stand into frequent customers who return for burgers, fries and chicken strips.

The chain's new tagline, "Fan food. Not fast food" replaces its previous tagline, "So Good It's RiDQulous," and is expected to run in about a dozen new spots this year, but the tagline and campaign are slated to continue long after that. One spot features what the chain calls a brand anthem that celebrates its fans and their relationship with the brand.

"Our objective is to reconnect emotionally with our consumers," said Barry Westrum, exec VP-marketing at American Dairy Queen Corp. "Ours is a fierce category, frequency is at a premium, and we really see the opportunity for our business to grow by taking these existing customers that have such strong feelings to get them to come back that much more frequently." He said that 56% of DQ's users are light (one visit per month), yet they only represent 29% of total visits. "If we can get light users to visit one time more per month, it would have a significant impact on our business."

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There aren't many marketing executives who would advertise a convertible as the perfect ride for a freezing winter day--or a sunny night. But that's what Kevin Mayer, VP-marketing for Volkswagen Group of America, is doing in a campaign for the all-new Beetle convertible.

Mr. Mayer and his agency, Deutsch, created a new spot showing a young woman awakened in the wee hours by her boyfriend. But as they tool around town in his Beetle convertible, we see the sun is up, but the streets are deserted. The reason? They're driving around Fairbanks, Alaska, so-called "Land of the Midnight Sun." The tagline: "Perfect for a sunny night. The all-new Beetle convertible." The spot follows one that has been running for some time showing a masked man walking into a convenience store. The cringing cashier fears he's about to rob the joint. But when the oblivious masked man returns to the car, viewers can see that he and his friends are wearing masks because they're driving the Beetle convertible on a winter day.

Marketing spending for the Volkswagen brand has shot up in recent years, jumping from just $200 million when Deutsch won the account in 2009 to more than $360 million in recent years. The company, which also operates Audi, Bentley and Porsche among other brands, ranks as the country's 58th largest national advertiser, according to Ad Age's DataCenter.

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Shaken, stirred ... or skinny?

It's a question that could be asked at a growing number of restaurant chains seizing on the low-calorie-liquor trend spawned by Skinnygirl Cocktails.

T.G.I. Friday's, Chili's, Cheesecake Factory and others are slapping generic phrases like "skinny" and "slender" on cocktails as they target weight-conscious drinkers. And Champps Americana and sibling chain Fox and Hound this month unveiled a handful of drinks with fewer than 140 calories using Skinnygirl brand spirits on a lighter summer menu.

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For food and drink makers, "skinny" seems to be the phattest marketing term going.

Brands have put the label on everything from cocktails to popcorn to give foods a low-cal sheen for consumers that are watching their waistlines.

"Skinny is the new "baby,' as in baby carrots [and] baby spinach," said Kit Yarrow, a consumer-research psychologist and professor at Golden Gate University. "It personifies food and makes it more endearing."

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Procter & Gamble Co. is the U.S.'s largest ad spenderand now it's embarking on a major review of how it measures the impact of that $5 billion-plus annual outlay.

The move comes only two years after adopting a new system for measuring return on marketing investment and amid investor pressure for the world's biggest advertiser to get more bang for its marketing bucks.

Two years ago, P&G consolidated marketing-mix-modeling efforts with Nielsen and brought on DemandTec, an IBM company that worked with Nielsen to deliver monthly ROI reports supplementing the annual or quarterly analyses the company used in the past. P&G scrapped DemandTec after getting readings that varied widely month to month and sometimes didn't gibe with analyses by Nielsen and others, according to people familiar with the matter. (P&G and Nielsen declined to comment.)

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Bacardi USA's answer to Captain Morgan is Colonel Roosevelt.

The marketer's flagship rum brand on Monday plans to introduce a TV commercial evoking the history of the "Cuba Libre," better known as the rum and Coke cocktail, which Bacardi says was created in Cuba in 1900 as then-Col. Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders helped fight for the nation's independence from Spain.

Directed by Jake Scott, the spot is the first in a series of ads that will emphasize the historical events that shaped the 151 year-old brand, which has links to the creation of other rum cocktails such as the Daiquiri and Mojito. Global parent Bacardi Limited began looking back last year, with a global campaign celebrating the brand's 150-year anniversary. The new campaign -- called "Vivimos! ("We live!") -- was created for the U.S., although elements might be expanded globally. It is the first work overseen by boutique agency OW, which Bacardi USA recently brought on board to oversee brand and creative strategy.

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JC Penney's net loss widened in the first quarter as the department-store chain works to rebound from former CEO Ron Johnson's failed makeover.

The loss expanded to $348 million in the quarter ended May 4 from a deficit of $163 million a year earlier. CEO Myron Ullman, who returned as CEO last month, has been increasing promotions to revive sales and raising cash by borrowing $850 million from the company's credit line while pursuing a $1.75 billion loan. First-quarter sales declined 16% to $2.64 billion.

"The loss was a little worse than I expected, but this story isn't about this quarter, it's about looking out," said Rick Snyder, an analyst for Maxim Group in New York. Mr. Ullman is "taking the right steps. He's trying to get the customer back, and the way to do that is discounting and couponing again," he said.

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Like gin and tonic, celebrities and booze have been mixing for decades. Who can forget Billy Dee Williams for Colt 45, Bob Uecker for Miller Lite or Frank Sinatra for Michelob? Even Orson Welles did it for Paul Masson Champagne, after more than a few (inebriated?) takes.

But these days, it seems like everyone has a deal. Do you know what brand Perry Farrell endorses? Do you know who Perry Farrell is? Dr. J (who has been retired for 26 years) has a new deal, as does CeeLo Green, Mad Woman Christina Hendricks and the Zac Brown band. But who backs what? It gets pretty confusing.

Test your knowledge with our 12-pack celebrity booze endorser quiz.

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Advertising Age brought its Women to Watch franchise to a third continent this week, celebrating the inaugural class of Women to Watch Turkey, in a partnership with local licensing partner MediaCat, part of Kapital Media.

The evening event, held in Istanbul's Swissotel on the European banks of the Bosphorus, honored 14 women in Turkey's advertising and marketing industry. Women to Watch, which has been celebrated for 16 years in the U.S. and was inaugurated in China last fall, acknowledges women who have already accomplished significant milestones--but are poised for even more achievement ahead.

"Receiving an award motivates a person to do a little bit better and it's a great recognition not only for myself but my whole team," said Galya Molinas, region president of Coca-Cola Turkey, Caucasia and Middle Asia. "And if we're able to inspire other people, particularly young people with this, there wouldn't be a happier person than myself."

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Walmart reported first-quarter sales and earnings that missed forecasts, but it's forging ahead with more local price-comparison ads and e-commerce investments amid signs its executives see that both are working.

Earnings of $1.14 per share for the quarter ended April 30 fell a penny below analyst forecasts. Comparable-store sales for the nameplate U.S. stores fell 1.4%, compared to a forecast of "about flat," breaking a streak of six positive quarters.

But executives pointed to things they said are producing positive results, including aggressive pricing, particularly on groceries, backed by local market-basket price-comparison ads on TV and radio that U.S. CEO Bill Simon said will now expand to 70% of Walmart's markets, up from the current 60%.

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A 24-year-old Ogilvy PR employee in Beijing has died after suffering a heart attack while at his desk. Ogilvy China confirmed the young man, Gabriel Li, passed away suddenly, but local media reports that followed -- saying his death was caused by overwork -- have not been substantiated.

According to a Beijing Times newspaper's account, Mr. Li let out a yell and collapsed while working in the office Monday evening. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.

Mr. Li was a junior staffer at the WPP-owned agency, part of a team that serviced a technology client.

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Aussie airline Qantas is asking consumers to ditch their Kindles and curl up with a good book -- one that's been specially curated by the airline so that flyers will manage to finish just as their plane touches down.

Droga5 Sydney, which won the client's business last year, teamed with publishing house Hachette to create a push geared toward Qantas' most traveled passengers. It's called "Stories for Every Journey," and is a collection of bespoke books, each of which promises to last only for the duration of one of the airline's routes.

Stephanie Tully, CMO Qantas Loyalty, said the tactile experience and custom-created books are meant to reflect the sophistication of the brand. It's a trait that's Qantas is focusing on more than ever thanks to its recent partnership with luxury airline Emirates, which makes Dubai a key travel hub and opens the airline up to 65 destinations. The effort is aimed at the brand's high-frequency travelers but is "just one of many conversations we're developing with our members, from Bronze to Platinum One," she said.

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David Ortiz' statement to the world after the terrorism bombings in Boston -- "this is our fucking city" -- is emblematic of Red Sox fans' personalities. They're passionate, sometimes a little salty and extremely loyal. In fact, the Red Sox' home game sellout streak that ended last month had stretched for 820 home games over 10 years, the longest such run in professional sports.

Executives predicted the sellouts would end this season, even though some Boston media outlets argued it ended last season citing summer evenings with empty Fenway seats. Still, the end of the streak was also something of a relief to management.

"It's been a pretty amazing decade," said Sam Kennedy, the chief operating officer of the Boston Red Sox and president of Fenway Sports Management. "It's a very fragile thing to have a streak like that. And it's easier when you're winning an average of 92, 93 games a season. Last year we had a disastrous season only winning 69 games, plus a lot of drama off the field and injuries. ...At the end of the day, we're dealing with human capital."

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Last year, in celebrating its centennial with the Daily Twist effort, Oreo encouraged consumers to look at the cookie a little differently. Now, with its new "Wonderfilled" campaign out of The Martin Agency, the brand wants them to see the rest of the world with a new sense of awe.

This weekend, Oreo debuted a highly cheery, animated 90-second spot set to a catchy twee track showing how historically morbid figures--the Big Bad Wolf, a blood-sucking vampire--take a turn for the bright, with the help of the classic creme-centered cookie.

"It starts with a very simple premise, about how something as small as an Oreo cookie can bring about a positive change in perspective," said Janda Lukin, Director, Oreo at Mondelez International, Inc.

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Taco Bell's Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer Brian Niccol has been promoted to president of the chain. Chris Brandt, a Taco Bell marketing executive, is now the chain's chief marketing officer.

A Taco Bell spokesman confirmed the moves, and said that Taco Bell CEO Greg Creed will remain in his post. Mr. Brandt will lead brand marketing, media and brand sponsorships, consumer insights and digital marketing.

Mr. Brandt was previously the chain's VP-marketing. He joined Taco Bell in 2010 as senior director of marketing. He was promoted in 2012 and helped roll out the "Live mas" tagline. During his tenure, he's overseen marketing strategy, led the launch of Doritos Locos Tacos and developed the Cantina Bell menu. Prior to joining Taco Bell, Mr. Brandt was a VP-marketing for Odwalla, a Coca-Cola brand, and launched a number of products, including protein smoothies and relaunched Odwalla bars. Before Odwalla, he worked in various brand-management roles at General Mills for brands including Betty Crocker, Nature Valley Granola Bars and Yoplait.

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First came the cola. Now comes the beer.

Heineken announced today it will re-enter Myanmar after a 17-year absence, following similar moves by PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. Global marketers are eyeing new growth in the southeast Asian nation as it ends authoritarian policies that had led to sanctions from western countries.

Heineken N.V. will operate in Myanmar through a joint partnership with locally-owned Alliance Brewery Co. Ltd, which is majority owned by businessman Aung Moe Kyaw. The plan is to build a $60 million brewery near the capital city of Yangon that will begin making and selling beer brands including Heineken by the end of 2014.

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Two weeks ago -- in the wake of Ron Johnson's ouster as JC Penney CEO and Myron Ullman's return -- JC Penney apologized to customers. The apology ad it released marked a bold admission that the retailer had failed in its turnaround efforts and went too far afield from its heritage. But now the retailer is declaring victory with a spot thanking consumers for returning to stores.

The spot, from JC Penney's new agency of record, Y&R, began making the rounds Monday after it was posted to the company's Facebook page. But it was first posted on YouTube on Mother's Day, and seems aimed directly at moms.

The spot depicts pretty, muted images of moms spending time with their kids, and families enjoying each others company. A voice-over declares: "At JCPenney, we never stop being amazed by you. How you work so hard without looking like you do. How you make every dollar stretch so far and keep your family so close." It closes with: "We're happy to say you've come back to us. Thank you."

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Hispanic consumers will soon say 'hola' to a new family: the Rojos, courtesy of Wendy's.

Hispanic marketers frequently latch on to the idea of family. According to Technomic, a family-friendly atmosphere and authentic and healthful menu offerings are particularly important for Hispanic consumers compared to the general U.S. population.

Most of the spots throughout the campaign will be in Spanish, although Mr. Bahner said that Wendy's will air an ad later this summer "that you will understand whether you speak English or Spanish."

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