You can depend on facing a major product crisis. The only question is when. Analyze how your business is operationally configured to identify emerging crises and gather resources to respond to them meaningfully and quickly.

Anita Puri has joined Digitas as senior VP-marketing for the Kraft account.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Activision Blizzard has yanked creative duties for its "Guitar Hero" franchise from MDC Partners' Crispin Porter & Bogusky, tapping Omnicom Group's TBWA/Chiat/Day to market the games going forward.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Looks as if the big Oscars gambit paid off: ABC today said last night's broadcast of the 82nd annual Academy Awards, replete with an expanded 10-nominee slate for Best Picture, notched the event's highest audience since 2005.

ADOTAS – Series B funding rounds ended quiet bountifully for both DataXu and DoubleVerify, with the two raking in $11 million and $10 million, respectively.

Menlo Ventures led the bidding for real-time bidding platform DataXu. Also participating were Flybridge Capital Partners, who bankrolled the company’s Series A round last April, and Atlas Venture. Menlo Ventures Managing Director John Jarve will join DataXu’s board of directors.

The firm launched its demand-side platform in September 2009. The funding will be used to invest in new product development, sales and marketing, as well as international expansion.

Institutional Venture Partners, which tends to be a later-stage investor in fast-growing digital media and technology companies, led verification company DoubleVerify’s funding. The round also featured participation from existing DoubleVerify investors.

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The trend lines on tweets that name-check the Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Film nominees basically go from flat line to huge spike to flat line again. One exception: Sandra Bullock.

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- The National Pork Board today named Chicago independent Schafer Condon Carter as its new agency of record, following a review, and the marketer said its long-running tagline, "the other white meat," is among many aspects of its marketing that is being re-evaluated.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Beauty marketer Beiersdorf has awarded its $100 million U.S. media planning and buying account to Aegis' Carat after a review that included the longtime incumbent, Omnicom Group's OMD, executives with knowledge of the situation said.

ADOTAS – Marketers have been flirting with the iPhone and mobile advertising for the majority of 2008 and 2009. Now, 70% to 85% of media buys have a mobile component –- from interactive and video to full-screen interstitials. Advertisers cannot afford to wait for the iPad to hit store shelves; they need to formulate their plan of attack now.

Beyond the magical properties of the iPad, advertisers should be aware of three major factors that will drive the adoption of the device:

1. Expanded user base
2. Hyper engagement
3. Device consolidation

Expanded User Base. The iPhone’s UI is extremely intuitive. Its groundbreaking functionality changed what we expect from a phone, making it just as easy to give to your toddler as it is to give to your grandparents.

With the iPhone OS integrated into the iPad, we can expect the same revolution in computing that will drive device growth lacking in two categories –- children and technophobes. With a fair number of education-related applications available, spanning from learning basics to post-grad level studies, the iPad will become the default tool for teaching institutes and serve as a great “first computer” for kids. Most parents will opt to buy one device rather than getting both a beginner laptop/netbook and an iPod touch for their kids.

For our technophobe aunts, uncles and parents the iPad provides the same intuitive OS that drove first time iPhone users to start sending emails, sharing photos and engaging in the digital age. With these two groups on board, the iPad will be Apple’s next hit.

Hyper Engagement. With close to 80% of our daily computing needs available on the iPad, it’s imperative that advertisers leverage the multiple touch points available to them through the apps on the device. Video and other interactive advertising on iPhone apps have paved the way for the iPad, allowing it to become a dominate vehicle for distribute highly-engaging brand experiences.

The vast amount of consumer demographic information that can be mined and used has been proven in the iPhone space. The iPad will provide advertisers the opportunity to tailor all creative specifically for each user. Beyond video, many of the assets that are used online, will cross over to the iPad with added functionality that will engage the user like never before.

Device Consolidation. We saw the trend of users ditching their iPods for iPhones or forgoing a digital camera all together because of the usability a camera phone provides. It will be no different for the laptop/computing market.

The iPad and devices like it will become the computing device of choice for many users. With a starting price point of $499. consumers will have a device that eliminates many additional purchases. This consolidation will reduce the number of devices that advertisers can use to target these users on, making the iPad ever more vital.

The iPad and other similar types of devices will drive consumers to rethink their computing behaviors. This presents advertisers with a unique opportunity to reach and engage new users like never before, but only if they understand how to leverage the iPad.

Don’t wait, start coming up with a plan now.

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YORK, Pa. (AdAge.com) -- A growing number of consumers are using video chat in conjunction with social networking to keep in touch with family and friends to hold video conferences. All that activity has some forward-looking marketers and ad agencies exploring how they can use video chat for advertising directly to customers, market research, customer service and even branded interactive experiences.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Don't be surprised if the next time you're shopping on Target.com, Walmart.com or any other major retailer, you see ads -- sometimes for competing stores.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- It often takes a risk to transform something steeped in history and tradition. And it doesn't always work out -- at least on the first attempt. Such was the case with last week's 4A's Transformation conference in San Francisco.

Is it even advertising? Who the hell knows? But it is so cool and funny and wicked and surprising and surprisingly restrained and postmodern in the best sense. In short: so Devo.

BATAVIA (AdAge.com) -- It's a beautiful time to be a man -- or at least to market to men -- as personal-care marketers rev up for what looks to be the biggest array of product launches for men in nearly a decade and maybe ever.

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- Recessionary darling Walmart is increasingly finding itself caught in the middle between higher-end retailers and value players and, at least in recent quarters, is losing share to both. That has some suppliers and market watchers wondering if Bentonville's strategies are flawed.

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Embattled independent agency Doner is now facing the potential loss of its biggest piece of business: Mazda. The automaker Friday confirmed its estimated $150 million North American advertising account is in review, and a spokesman told Ad Age the duties up for grabs encompass "basically all the work Doner handles."

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- Unilever has appointed longtime general manager Keith Weed as its chief marketing officer effective April 1, succeeding the outgoing Simon Clift, who announced his departure last month.

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- Unilever has appointed longtime general manager Keith Weed as its chief marketing officer effective April 1, succeeding the outgoing Simon Clift, who announced his departure last month.

NEW YORK (AdAge) -- ComScore added some firepower in its bid to extend its media measurement to TV. The analytics firm hired former Arbitron exec Joan FitzGerald as VP-television sales and business development, which means ComScore is knocking at the door of cable, satellite, telco and set-top makers such as TiVo to do business deals for data.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Echoing the sentiment of every other holding company that the worst of the recession's impact on the ad business has past, WPP, the world's largest ad conglomerate, reported a pretax-profit drop of 16.1% to $1.2 billion from $1.5 billion in 2008.