30-SECOND SPOTS / DISPATCHES FROM THE WORLD OF MEDIA AND ADVERTISING

1 "High school will return after a word from our sponsors ..." Sound far-fetched? The Toronto District School Board has approved a pilot project with Onestop Media Group that could see advertising featured on digital screens in four high schools. The school board does not call it "advertising," preferring the term "sponsorship," and says sponsors will be carefully vetted. The board says the goal of the project is to equip schools with a modern communications platform. We'd prefer that the board stick with the old P.A. system, which didn't subject kids to ads at school.

2 Perhaps we should sign up Toronto high-school students for a new media literacy campaign aimed at helping kids think critically about the messages they receive. According to Concerned Children's Advertisers and the Media Awareness Network, the groups behind the campaign, children spend an average of seven hours a day watching TV and surfing the Internet. The year-long campaign features a PSA and a website, LongLiveKids.ca, which aims to help children "eat smart, move more and be media wise." What about teaching kids to turn off the TV and computer once in a while?

3 We've heard of car insurance, life insurance, even pet insurance, but celebrity-scandal insurance? An agent for British insurer Lloyd's says the company has seen an eightfold increase in inquiries from companies wanting to protect themselves from Tiger Woods-like embarrassments that can cost them millions in contracts and ad spending. Some policies will even cover the cost of producing a new campaign with a replacement athlete. Companies are also including stricter morals clauses in their contracts with celebrity endorsers. We wonder if Lloyd's offers cheating-husband insurance?

4 Yes, celebrities sure do cost a lot, says Dish Network, which launched an ad during last Sunday's Grammy awards alleging that rival DirecTV's subscribers are paying higher satellite bills because of its use of Beyoncé and Christina Aguilera, among others, in its advertising. The aggressive in-house spot seems to have sparked a feud between the two companies, with DirecTV countering with a claim that Dish is actually the higher ad spender. DirecTV also questioned why, during the celebrity love-in known as the Grammys, Dish would deride its use of celebrities in advertising. Good point.

5 Monster.com's violin-playing beaver ad is sure to be a hit with women watching the Super Bowl this weekend. According to a survey by U.S. ad agency Venables Bell & Partners, women are more likely to remember commercials with cute animals in them. Men and women alike said humour makes ads more memorable, and chose Budweiser as their favourite advertiser from last year's game. Men reported being more interested in the game itself, but were also more likely to watch the ads again online. And which ads were men most likely to remember? The ones with cute girls in them.