USA Today and Facebook are "joining forces" on the annual Super Bowl Ad Meter. Consumers for the first time "will decide the winner" of the ad meter, as they will be "able to view and vote on the ads, see how other people rank the ads and share their favorites with Facebook friends." The winner "will be announced after the online voting period." The "traditional focus group of viewers also rate the ads during the game in a controlled environment" (USA TODAY, 10/3).
NO PARTING IN DEATH: In N.Y., Matt Flegenheimer wrote under the header, "Increasingly, Devoted Sports Fans Go To The Grave With Team Spirit." Flegenheimer noted "many families have chosen to say goodbye with meticulously prepared -- and, often, quite expensive -- floral arrangements bearing a logo of a favorite team." There has been an "emergence of sports-themed arrangements," but florists' use of trademarked team images "does not appear to have been challenged by local franchises." Spokespeople for the Yankees and Mets said that any trademark claims "were league business." An MLB spokesperson said that "no one had ever requested permission to use a logo for a floral arrangement, but that baseball had not sought out offenders." In the N.Y. area, the Yankees "are the most consistent seller for many florists" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/1).
ON THE DOLLAR: IndyCar team owner Sarah Fisher said that she hopes Ed Carpenter's win yesterday at the Kentucky Indy 300 "will resonate with the team's primary sponsor, Dollar General, which recently said it wouldn't return to the IndyCar program" in '12. Sunday was Fisher's first win as either a driver or team owner, and she said, "I still don't believe it. It's unreal" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 10/3).
