NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Although it is broadly embraces all forms of retail marketing, this year's National Retail Federation Convention is literally a carnival of in-store interactivity. Ad Age reporter Natalie Zmuda visits the show's Customer Experience Concept Store to check out the latest technology for electronically engaging with consumers as they make their critical point-of-purchase decisions.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Consumers, particularly younger ones, who are seriously cutting back spending during the current economic downturn may be establishing new patterns of frugality that will live on after the recovery. That was one of the concerns of Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott who yesterday kicked off the National Retail Federation's annual convention in Manhattan. His candid comments come just weeks before he is scheduled to step down as CEO.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- When Washington begins to address the enormous budget deficit that will be generated by the bailout, legislators will inevitably look at the advertising business, says James Datri. The new president-CEO of the American Advertising Federation warns the industry to be wary of any effort to restrict the tax deductibility of corporate advertising.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- We will witness a movement back toward the for-pay online publishing model in 2009 says Ad Age Editor Jonah Bloom. In this commentary looking at the media year ahead, Bloom notes that there are more publishers than online advertisers to support them. And he strongly suggests that newspaper and magazine websites have no choice but to accelerate their diversification beyond advertising revenue if they hope to survive.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The issue of the advertising industry's diversity hiring practices, which seemed to have settled down, flared anew yesterday. Attorney Cyrus Mehri orchestrated a dramatic press conference and the release of new study documenting racial disparity throughout the ad agency business.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- In the middle of the worst economic crisis since the depression, the International Consumer Electronics Show got underway this week. The crowds are smaller and the overall spirit of the event is more subdued but it's not all gloom and doom reports Ad Age Digital Editor Abbey Klaassen.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Eastman Kodak CMO Jeffrey Hayzlett makes no bones about his downbeat view of current market conditions. In remarks to an audience of marketers at a marketing awards event, he characterized the situation as one that was moving from "tension to terror." Mr. Hayzlett spoke of his company's strategy changes and also cautioned the audience about the potential pitfalls of a company or its employees becoming involved in social media.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Mark Gambill, chief marketing officer of CDW, warned big marketers to resist the knee-jerk inclination to slash marketing budgets. In Manhattan to accept a Top Marketer award, Mr. Gambill offerd his observations and advice for the coming year of economic struggle. CDW is the 34th largest private corporation in the U.S. with $8.1 billion in annual sales.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- For the eleventh year Advertising Age ad critic Bob Garfield bestows awards for the best performances by an actor, actress and celebrity in a TV commercial. However, this eight-minute program marks the first time the awards have ever been announced in a video format. The annual honors acknowledge the dramatic difference between movie and commercial acting.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Sustainability is an issue that marketers, ad agencies and media companies can no longer easily ignore. Some marketers, like Wal-Mart, have made massive changes within the last year to incorporate sustainability as an actual marketing strategy for growth. Don Carli of the Institute for Sustainable Communications weighs in on how the issue is evolving and where it's likely to be going in 2009.