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On the air

By TIMES WIRES
Published January 5, 2007

Did Chevy suck the gas out of his new record?

John Mellencamp's 21st studio album, Freedom's Road, isn't due out until Jan. 23, but his record label is already worrying that one song, Our Country, may be suffering from overexposure. A pervasive ad campaign for Chevrolet's Silverado uses 60 seconds of the rootsy song as a backdrop for a montage of images including immigrants waving at the Statue of Liberty and Neil Armstrong walking on the moon, meant to evoke nostalgia and American values. General Motors Corp.'s Chevrolet spent close to $1-million on airtime for just the first month of the campaign, before it had even ramped up to full exposure, estimates TNS Media Intelligence. The campaign is slated for an indefinite run. But executives at Universal Republic Records worry that with the ad saturating television broadcasts for nearly six months before the release of the new album, some fans could sour on the song. Indeed, backlash may be setting in. The ads have inspired at least one parody video on YouTube, substituting pictures from the Abu Ghraib prisoner-abuse scandal, guys with beer guts and other unflattering aspects of America - with Mellencamp's song in the background.

On Mad Money

6 p.m./9 p.m./midnight most weekdays, CNBC

Jim Cramer suggested these stocks on his television show recently:

Jones Soda Co. (JSD.V): The sodamaker, which started out as a distributor and whose products are available in only a third of all U.S. retail stores, will expand nationwide from a regional presence on the West Coast, Cramer said. "Growth is crack on Wall Street," Cramer said, adding Jones will likely get exposure as more analysts take note.

Riverbed Technology Inc. (RVBD): Cramer advised viewers to hold Riverbed Technology Inc., whose shares have more than tripled since the initial offering in September. The company, whose software helps clients reduce bandwidth and infrastructure costs, is a "growth story," Cramer said. Its earnings may rise to 48 cents a share in 2008, he said.

Brinker International Inc. (EAT): The operator of Chili's and Romano's Macaroni Grill restaurants was also recommended by Cramer, who cited an increased dividend and a share buyback.

[Last modified January 4, 2007, 23:18:01]