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National cable TV ads were scheduled to start March 1, but had to be postponed due to the lack of adequate funding, says George Zimmermann, vice president for Travel Michigan. "Our media buyers are telling us that April is now sold out, and that May will be soon," he says. "If we are not on the air in May, we will have missed the summer travel planning season for this year."

The first commercial, "Tokyo Dancing Hotel," features Jackman appearing to be "tired and alone" until "instantly transformed" by sipping a Lipton Ice Tea, whereupon he dances through various rooms in a luxury hotel, joined by staff and guests, in Lipton's description.

This year, Cirrus Aircraft will be a highly visible sponsor for all eight races in the Red Bull championship -- an elite aviation competition conceived in 2001 by the think-tank of the Red Bull energy drink brand, which continues as the name sponsor.

In the ad, which will air extensively during the NCAA Basketball Tournament, Odom highlights features of the phone, including a Swype keypad (that allows one to swipe their fingers over the letters rather than tapping) bright screen and fast speeds

In addition to TV spots airing on national broadcast and cable networks, Sharp has also developed print and online advertising. Given how much of the advertising is meant to drive in-store traffic, Sharp has also developed an extensive in-store campaign, placing end caps in retail outlets, and training salespeople about the technology.

If you are marketing across several age demographics, consider spending your money on Gen Y, and let them do some of the work for you.

Those of us who live in the America of highly regulated health marketing can learn something from this other America. I hope we see these two worlds converging because they both share the goal of making sure we all get the treatments we need, when we need them so we can have the best health outcomes individually and as a society.

In a bid to become the "global authority" in lawn and garden care, Scott's Miracle-Gro is focusing on consumers' own back yards, diverting more of its marketing muscle into local, specific efforts. Last year, it says, it prepared just two versions of point-of-purchase materials for its Western region, and this year there will be 17.

Sentiment analysis -- similar to text mining -- involves parsing and analyzing the comments and suggestions customers post on social media. It concentrates on looking at the context, tone, emotion, polarity and objectivity of the comments rather than solely the words.

Walmart's "target market is both the unbanked and underbanked population," Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com, tells Marketing Daily, "and that is also a growth segment, particularly with recent legislation that makes it more difficult for consumers with poor credit to get credit cards, and the potential for reduced availability of free checking. And that population seems poised to continue growing."

"People consume March Madness in different ways, and we want to meet consumers where they are in a unique way," Capital One's Marc Mentry tells Marketing Daily. "We'll be showing ads throughout the tournament for the TV viewing audience, while the Ivans offers branded entertainment that we believe will resonate with the hardcore sports enthusiast that tends to engage online."

The Blanco tequila brand will be visiting bars and nightclubs nationwide, offering sample shots, new cocktails and variations on the Caborita. Rock-themed trivia games and freebies such as guitar picks and electric guitar keychain bottle openers will be offered at the events.