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Talk of the day: Molson coors pulls plug on photo contest

By Times Staff
Published November 27, 2007

Molson Coors Brewing Co., the third-largest U.S. brewer, ended a Canadian photo contest on social-networking Web site Facebook Inc. a week early after university administrators complained that it glorified excessive drinking. Managers stopped the marketing campaign Friday because "the intent was being misinterpreted," Molson spokesman Ferg Devins said. The Denver- and Montreal-based company began the Facebook photo contest in late October to promote new slim cans for its Molson Canadian beer. The contest asked Canadian universities to compete for the title "No. 1 party school," and the student who submitted the winning photo will get a trip to Cancun, Mexico. Administrators from universities including Queen's University, McMaster University and St. Francis Xavier University criticized the contest in the Globe and Mail newspaper Friday, prompting the early end to the contest.

ABC, Facebook to team up in election

ABC News, seeking to attract young viewers, will offer online news and video about the 2008 presidential election to the 55-million users of social-networking Web site Facebook Inc. ABC's political reporters will write stories on the candidates for Facebook's "U.S. Politics" forum page. Facebook will join ABC News in hosting Democratic and Republican presidential debates with WMUR-TV in New Hampshire in early January, the companies said. ABC, the television unit of Walt Disney Co., is joining the Washington Post Co. and Time Warner Inc.'s CNN.com in providing news to the users of Facebook, the second-most-popular social-networking site after News Corp.'s MySpace.

TiVo fast-forwards move into Canada

TiVo Inc., the pioneer of digital video recorders, plans to introduce its products in Canada, expanding in its third market outside of the United States ahead of the holiday season. The Series2 DT DVRs will be sold in early December at retailers such as Best Buy Co., The Brick and London Drug, TiVo said in a statement. TiVo, based in Alviso, Calif., is expanding abroad as satellite and cable-television companies offer rival DVR services in the United States.

Chinese artist's works fetch $9.5M

A set of 14 gunpowder paintings by Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang sold for $9.5-million at an auction in Hong Kong, breaking records for the artist and for Chinese contemporary art, Christie's auction house said Monday. The abstract works by Cai were sold to an anonymous bidder Sunday as part of a mammoth auction of contemporary South and Southeast Asian art in Hong Kong.Cai's 14 screens, done in gunpowder and ink, sold for double their estimated value of between $3.5-million and $4.6-million.

[Last modified November 27, 2007, 01:26:48]