ACOG CEO Billy Payne underwent surgery to replace a
herniated disc at the base of his neck with a piece of his pelvic
bone. Payne, who apparently ruptured the disc when reaching
around quickly to pick something up, will take several days to
recuperate from the three and a half-hour surgery (ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION, 5/28)....Nissan will spend upwards of $175M on
network spending for the upcoming season, including an estimated
$10M Olympic media buy in order to create an image of "a
mainstream sedan company matured beyond its once-sporty image"
(BRANDWEEK, 5/27).... Bob Garfield of AD AGE writes, "on a scale
of 1 to 11," the Olympic-themed ad for IBM featuring the
fictional band Spinal Tap, "is pretty bloody disappointing" (AD
AGE, 5/28). ....ACOG and Hanes will host a grand opening during
June and July at which more than 70,000 Games staff members will
pick up their uniforms and accreditation badges during scheduled
appointments (ACOG)....Officials of the '98 Nagano Olympic Games
expect 1.2 million visitors during the 16-day Winter Games (SAN
JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 5/28)....Chuck Rohe, of Florida Citrus Sports,
says a "two-week blitz" of advertising is planned in June for the
nine Olympic soccer games in Orlando (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 5/28).
