Advertising Roundup: Celeb Brands Axed; Agency in Credit Card Scam; DraftFCB on Starbucks; New Shell Campaign

(MoneyWatch)  Bad news for LL Cool James, Sarah Jessica Parker, Amanda Bynes, Venus Williams et al -- Following the worst holiday shopping season in four decades, numerous retailers are going bankrupt or being liquidated and taking celebrity brands down along with them. [Source: Ad Age]

Rita Sanders employee in credit card scam -- A former employee of a Tempe advertising agency was arrested on suspicion of embezzling nearly $40,000, police said Tuesday. According to police reports, Betty Ann Trisdale, 43, of Tempe allegedly embezzled over $37,429 from Rita Sanders Advertising between Oct. 1 2006 and Aug. 15, 2008. Trisdale allegedly opened a credit card account in the name of her employer, made charges on the card, and then accessed the businesses online accounts to pay the bills. [Source: AZ Central]

DraftFCB now on Starbucks -- Joins BBDO on the account. Note: This is, arguably, not good news for BBDO, which needs to break out of its brand image box and get into more retail-oriented business. See BNET's previous note. [Source: Brandweek]

Shell trying, again, to green-up its image -- Royal Dutch Shell, censured twice by Britain's ad police for exaggerating its commitment to green issues, is hoping to avoid controversy in its latest ad campaign -- The Anglo-Dutch oil giant drew fire from activist groups like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth for past attempts to extol its environmental responsibility. It tended to boast of its investments in alternative energy with ads that spoke of the "power to create a cleaner, safer world." Now, in a campaign designed by ad agency JWT, part of London-based WPP, Shell is stressing technology and innovation and its potential contributions to fighting global warming. Shell, its ads say, is working on ways to squeeze out "difficult" oil trapped in sand, rock and in the deepest seas. And it is trying to capture carbon-dioxide, a global-warming gas, and store it safely underground. [Source: WSJ]