Advertising Roundup: Yahoo and Google Feeling Slow Ad Market, FTC Cracking Down on Greenwashing, and More

Yahoo reports Q3 earnings, layoffs -- Yahoo reported a 64 percent drop in income for Q3 and CEO Jerry Yang warned investors that the near future of the advertising market isn't looking bright. The company will slash 10 percent of its workforce in Q4. [Source: CNET]

FTC to crack down on 'green washing' -- In 2009 the FTC plans to reexamine the federal guidelines establishedin 1992 to regulate ads that mislead consumers about companies' green practices. Industry watchers are particularly interested in how the FTC will treat ill-defined terms like "sustainability," "renewability," and "carbon-neutral." [Source: MediaPost]

Google's ad budget 'under stress' -- Google CEO Eric Schmidt told Bloomberg today that it will slow its hiring spree and make fewer acquisitions in response to the soft ad market. Silicon Alley Insider argues that "soft" will turn out to be a huge overstatement -- a "shrinking" ad market is like it and Google will definitely be a victim, writes Nicholas Carlson. [Source: Silicon Alley Insider]

New book shows consumers' counterintuitive buying habits -- Ad Age reviews "Buyology," a new book that is the result of a 3-year, $7 million neuromarketing study by Martin Lindstrom. Among the findings: Cigarette warning labels make consumers want to smoke more, not less. [Source: Ad Age]