Weight Watchers: the
ultimate RPG?

Agencies and Marketing Execs:

• King Arthur Flour made Kelliher Samets Volk its agency of record.
• Bacardi's $35 million global rum account is now in review. Y&R currently handles it.
• Hyatt's global creative account will go to one of two shops: BBDO/NY or Cutwater.
• WPP bought a minority stake — about 27.5 percent — in Kenyan ad firm Scangroup.

Biz Buzz:

• CafePress chose Kenshoo to provide search engine marketing services for its platform.
• Arguing that employee safety is more important than the measly 2.4 percent of growth Burger King might glean in the wee hours, three franchisers based in Miami are filing suit against the company, which has demanded they keep their stores open until 2am.

Gaming:

• A writer at Wired attributes the success of the Weight Watchers diet to its format as a kind of "life" RPG (role-playing game).

Music:

• Music blogging platform MOG launched the MOG Music Network, an ad network for indy music blogs and websites. The company also appointed Rick Rubin to its board of directors.

Mobile:

• Lenovo and Intel released a mobile widget for the Olympic summer games, powered by Zumobi. The widget ports content from Lenovo's Voices and Olympic Podium websites.
• Steve Jobs says Apple can remove applications from users' iPhones. He promised "that lever" would only be used in extreme circumstances. The company has already removed some apps, including NetShare and I Am Rich.

Publishing:

• Companies like The New York Times, BBC, CNN and MSNBC are unearthing a fresh crop of advertisers by exploring digital options.
• The Olympic Committee is sending takedown notices to websites publishing video footage of the Games.

Social Networks:

• Almost seven in 10 of the FTSE 100 have left their brand names unclaimed on microblogging site Twitter — a concern that apparently merits coverage.
• Facebook has updated metrics tools for tracking applications.

Tech:

• ISPreview released 12 tips for finding a good webhost.

User Experience:

• EPM Communications released a study all about women consumers. And it only costs $299 for non-subscribers.
• Beijing is receiving flak because aspects of the Olympics opening ceremony — including footage of the fireworks, and even the voice of the opening singer — were faked.
• About nine percent of surveyed consumers respond to emerging media ads, including those on mobile, as well as product placement in video games, movies and TV shows. A full 32 percent, however, are "ad-adverse."