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Letter to the editor

Talk of the day

By Times Staff Writer
Published January 23, 2008

Employees are Totally gaga about Google

Google Inc., owner of the world's most popular Internet search engine, is the best U.S. company to work for, according to a Fortune magazine survey. Google was the top-ranked employer for the second straight year, beating Internet home lender Quicken Loans Inc. and Wegmans Food Markets Inc., the northeastern U.S. grocery chain, Fortune said Tuesday on its Web site. The magazine surveyed employees at 406 companies. Employees of Google of Mountain View, Calif., are drawn to the "flexibility, financial security, of course, and the opportunity to get things done," Fortune said. Google, which employed 15,900 people as of Sept. 30, lets workers spend one day a week on their own projects.

London cabbies chat with purpose

American tourists have long been fans of London's roomy black taxicabs and their colorful drivers' gift of gab. But these days, tourists can expect more than a memorable journey and forceful opinions - they can expect a sales pitch. Drivers of black cabs are being recruited as the latest weapons of businesses seeking to use word-of-mouth advertising to entice passengers to buy their products or services. Already about a dozen drivers have been recruited to promote www.888.com, an online gambling business, and five have been called upon by the Tourism Authority of Thailand to talk about the benefits of traveling to that country. By the end of the year, as many as 300 cab drivers could be involved in marketing schemes across Britain.

Bud's game plan: high-priced laughs

Perennial Super Bowl advertiser Anheuser-Busch Cos. is leaning heavily on humor in a raft of ads slotted for this year's game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots, which airs Feb. 3. Bud Light will be featured in six of the seven spots, while the trademark Clydesdale horses will return in the single spot for the core Budweiser brand. The cost for a 30-second spot on the game has been reported as high as $2.7-million. Bob Lachky, executive vice president for global industry and creative development at Anheuser-Busch, said two of the Bud Light ads will rely on "rug-pull" gags involving special powers that the beer supposedly endows on drinkers. The Clydesdale spot, which traditionally features an uplifting theme, focuses on a horse that didn't make the final cut to join the team and took a year to train - with a Dalmatian. The ad "tells a good story at time when, let's face it, there's a lot of negativity and cynicism," Lachky said.

Ford Escape hybrid gets pep infusion

Ford's 2009 Escape gas-electric hybrid will show improvements in power and performance, the automaker said Tuesday. Ford Motor Co. was unveiling the 2009 versions of the Escape, above, and its corporate twin, the 2009 Mercury Mariner, at the Washington Auto Show, which opens to the public today and lasts through Sunday. Both the gasoline and hybrid versions of the Escape and Mariner will have a new 2.5-liter engine that will boost power 11 percent to 170 horsepower. The 2009 versions of both models will go on sale this summer.

[Last modified January 23, 2008, 00:32:54]