Making lemonade

ByABC News
October 6, 2008, 2:46 AM

— -- Even as America was pummeled by recent economic events and consumers were more worried about ending up penniless in their twilight years than about buying stuff, some advertisers, nonetheless, found ways actually to tie in with the financial fiasco:

Restoration Hardware. The upscale home goods retailer is promoting its own "bailout bill" a $100 credit on purchases of $400 or more.

"We wanted to offer a gesture of support to those who are considering a purchase in these difficult economic times," spokeswoman Donata Maggipinto says. The discount runs through today.

One headline: "We love Chase. And not just because they have a trillion dollars." The fine print: "WaMu has a bright new future, thanks to the stability of JPMorgan Chase (and their nearly trillion dollars in consumer deposits)."

Gallows humor can work. An unintended result of Ad Team's reporting on Madden's promotion was a great pair of stilettos on sale.

The torch still burns

Meanwhile, fractional jet ownership service CitationShares is featuring the swimmer in online videos. In a series of clips, Phelps shows off his medals, annoys a sleeping passenger by shooting a swim cap at him and sings the Journey song Don't Stop Believin'.