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MICHAEL PHELPS'S REPUTATION certainly took a hit after those bong pictures surfaced. Now it's Kellogg Co's turn.

The cereal company, which banished the Olympian swimmer from its boxes after the photos appeared, fell to No. 68 from No. 16 on the reputation index compiled by Vanno.com after the dismissal, and it has since fallen to No. 83, according to Advertising Age.

Vanno follows 5,500 companies by capturing "gossip, news, opinion and personal insight about companies and their reputations" and converting them into numerical scores.

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TIGER WOODS IS BACK, AND MARKETERS are giddy.

Nike launched a spot on Wednesday in which the golfer's return to play spoils the party for other, not-so-famous pro golfers who were basking in the Tiger-less limelight. Just hours after Mr. Woods's announcement last week, NBC aired a promotional spot. And watch maker TAG Heuer is kicking off a direct-mail and billboard campaign to promote the chance to play golf with Mr. Woods.

"Professional golf without Tiger Woods is like a Hollywood blockbuster without a leading man," said Jeff Urban, a Gatorade senior vice-president of sports marketing.

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WITH DIGITAL PUNDITS PREDICTING THE death of the 30-second commercial, you'd think TV would be on the ropes. In fact, a massive study from the Advertising Research Foundation found that TV is not only as effective as ever, it could be performing better than before when it comes to boosting sales. The study, which used data from seven research firms, found, among other things, that TV is the top medium in raising awareness. Researchers say that as people's lives become more complicated, they want to "watch TV and relax and let the communications wash over them. It's an extension of the brand experience."

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WE HATE SPAM. BUT CONSUMERS WHO sign up to get "permission-based" e-mails from retailers seem happy with them.

Of those who choose to receive such e-mails, 56 per cent say the messages make them more likely to buy from the store that sent them, according to market research firm Epsilon.

Almost as many--52 per cent--said the e-mails give them a more favourable opinion of the store, and 48 per cent feel "more loyal" toward the retailer as a result of the messages, according to Adweek.

Consumers view retailers' e-mails as akin to digital catalogues, alerting them to new products.

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BRAND-NAME PACKAGED GOODS ARE taking a real beating from private labels in this recession, at least in the United States. And some experts say this might be just the start--they predict a structural slowdown in consumer spending that could last four to 10 years, which could see private labels soar to a dizzying high, according to Advertising Age.

Consumers have been drifting toward private labels even in categories where they were never a factor before, such as feminine protection or skin care. All in all, private-label market share grew 0.8 percentage points to 21.9 per cent of volume in all packaged-goods categories last year.

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