Lorik blog

Bing Brings You Jay-Z's Life 'Decoded'

Jay-Z fans will be able to access pages from the rapper's upcoming book - Decoded, an exploration of his life and lyrics - starting this week for a whole month before it hits store shelves on November 16. This sneak peek is part of an online interactive game and campaign that has been formed in collaboration with .

Here's how it works: Pages from the book will be physically placed around the world with a majority in the New York area, in locations related to specific content featured on Bing - specificallyand . Five to 10 new pages from the book will be revealed each day, and participating fans who visitwill be able to find these pages either online or in person.

"Pages will be placed in locations related to the content, so that's everything from high profile advertising like billboards to very very unique placements such as swimming pools and pool tables, and even high-fashion designer clothing racks," says Lisa Gurry, a Bing spokeswoman and communications director.

Once players locate a page, they will get credit for it online. If they find it in a physical location, they will be able to text a unique game code from the page. Players will be entered into drawings to wina signed copy of the page they've located. And everyone who locates a page will be entered into a contest for the grand prize - two tickets to see Jay-Z and Coldplay in concert at Las Vegas on New Year's Eve.

The interactive game is heavily built ontechnology, and it includes Bing Maps features such as Birds-Eye View and Streetside imagery. It also has a variety of Bing Entertainment features - in this instance, photos and videos of Jay-Z, as well as song clips.

The campaign, which was developed by creative agency Droga5, is the first of its kind for Bing. Gurry says it was conceived as a way to raise buzz about Jay-Z's book, while also potentially introducing Bing to a new audience. Gurry says Bing has previously worked with various artists in many aspects of the entertainment industry, and that it will probably continue focusing on that area.

"As far as replicating this specific campaign, we'll see how it goes and take it from there," she says.

Check out some pages from Decoded and the Bing interactive experience below. What are your thoughts on this marketing campaign?

Thumbnail courtesy of Flickr,

Merck, J&J arbitration on drug rights starts soon

TRENTON, N.J. – Drugmaker Merck & Co. said Tuesday that arbitration will begin in late September in its dispute with Johnson & Johnson over revenue from two blockbuster drugs for rheumatoid arthritis and other immune disorders.

The dispute arose when Merck bought Schering-Plough Corp., which has shared billions in revenue with J&J from Remicade and a successor drug, Simponi.

Merck structured its purchase of Schering-Plough as a reverse merger, meaning that Schering-Plough technically was the surviving corporation. That was an attempt to block change-of-control provisions in Schering's contract with J&J.

Johnson & Johnson has argued that those provisions are in force and that it is entitled to Schering-Plough's share of revenue from the drugs — roughly $2 billion a year — plus damages.

In May, J&J's biotech subsidiary Centocor informed Merck it was initiating an arbitration proceeding, as investors had expected. Both companies have kept mum about the dispute, but Merck's general counsel, Bruce Kuhlik, told analysts on a July 30 conference call he hoped to provide additional information soon.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday, Merck said that the arbitration case would be heard in New York City by a panel of three former federal judges, whom it did not identify. The hearing is expected to last up to 12 business days and the panel is then expected to make a decision within 20 business days after that.

"We continue to believe very strongly that we've structured this transaction in a way that's appropriate for the Remicade distribution agreement," Kuhlik told analysts in July.

Merck wrote in the SEC filing that it is being represented by attorneys William Ohlemeyer, Scott Vernick and David Boies. Boies is the high-profile lawyer who represented former Vice President Al Gore in litigation over the results of the 2000 presidential election and was special counsel for the Justice Department in its antitrust suit against Microsoft.

Johnson & Johnson is being represented by the firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, Merck reported Tuesday. J&J officials did not return a call seeking comment.

Merck noted the two companies could decide to resolve the dispute privately — an outcome some analysts have predicted — but that could mean a change in how the companies split proceeds from the drugs. J&J already gets the larger share, posting $4.3 billion in sales from Remicade alone last year; it did not report separate sales from then-new Simponi.

Merck bought Schering-Plough for $41 billion last November, one of several major pharmaceutical mergers in 2009. The deal was part of Merck's strategy to diversify by adding Schering's businesses in biologic drugs, veterinary medicine and consumer health products, plus several promising experimental drugs Schering-Plough has been testing.

V.Williams, Peer cross paths again; American wins

NEW YORK – When Israel's Shahar Peer was denied a visa to play in the United Arab Emirates last year, Venus Williams spoke out on her behalf — because she felt it was the right thing to do under those circumstances.

When Peer and Williams meet on a tennis court, as they've done rather frequently lately, the American shows not a trace of empathy — because that is the right thing to do under those circumstances.

The No. 3-seeded Williams got through a tougher-than-expected test and beat the 16th-seeded Peer 7-6 (3), 6-3 Sunday to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the 10th time. It was their sixth head-to-match, fourth this year alone, and Williams has won every time in straight sets.

"Every time I played Venus, I had (a) tough time, and she was always kind of killing me," Peer said with a smile. "So today was much closer."

Afterward, both women discussed what happened at the Dubai Tennis Championship in February 2009.

Peer was blocked from entering the country because of what the government said were security concerns. Williams was critical of the decision, first in a news conference, then — far more publicly — during the trophy ceremony after she won the title there.

"She was really supportive for me," Peer said Sunday. "She stood up in that final and spoke for me. ... She understands what I feel."

Williams was honored by the Anti-Defamation League last year for her stance in Dubai, but Sunday said that "in a way, I don't think it's something too huge."

No, instead, it seemed like the obvious thing to do.

"Well, I think just because of my history, too, as African-American — my parents both came from the South in the '40s and '50s, and just, it was an outrage, really. Just like, 'Are you serious? Can you really exclude someone?'" Williams said. "This is professional tennis in 2010. We're all athletes here. We're not politicians or anything like that."

"So really," she continued, "the feeling inside of me was just one of almost rage and discontent. Like, 'Is this for real?'"

Williams made it clear she would defend her Dubai title this year only if Peer were allowed to play, and the WTA fined tournament organizers a record $300,000 and told them they needed to make sure Israeli players would be able to compete.

As it happened, Peer did play at Dubai in 2010 — and met Williams in the 2010 semifinals there. They also faced each other at Rome and Madrid this season.

In none of their encounters before Sunday did Peer ever manage to win more than four games in any set, but she made things more interesting at Flushing Meadows. Peer probably must have thought she deserved to take the opening set Sunday, because she broke Williams' big serve twice and played solidly, making only 13 unforced errors, three fewer than the American.

Serving while down 6-5, Peer fell behind love-40, but saved those three set points. Peer would go on to save two more set points in that game, a 22-point marathon that featured eight deuces and lasted more than 10 minutes.

But two-time U.S. Open champion Williams finally found her form in the tiebreaker, taking four consecutive points — including a service winner and ace — to lead 5-1. There was one more blip for Williams, a double-fault at 6-2, her sixth set point, but she closed it with a big cross-court forehand that forced an error by Peer.

"Winning the first set always feels good," said Williams, whose younger sister Serena watched from the stands, "instead of having to regroup and figuring out how you're going to win the match."

That, of course, is where Peer was left, much as she always is when standing across the net against Williams.

The owner of seven Grand Slam singles titles is playing in her first tournament in more than two months, having missed time with a left kneecap injury that forced her to skip a pair of hard-court tuneup events. Before coming to New York, Williams hadn't competed anywhere since June 29, when she was upset in the Wimbledon quarterfinals by a woman ranked 82nd.

To get to her first major semifinal since Wimbledon in 2009, Williams will have to beat French Open champion Francesca Schiavone next. The sixth-seeded Italian defeated 20th-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 6-0 Sunday to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time since 2003.

"When the tournament started, it was a little uncertain on ... how I would hit the ball in a match," said the 30-year-old Williams, who is 7-0 against Schiavone. "It's just very exciting to obviously be here and hitting well and getting the games on my side, so that's what I want to continue. I haven't played as much as the other players, but still I'm getting the win, so that's what's important."

UK regulators want Avandia diabetes pill pulled

LONDON – GlaxoSmithKline's controversial diabetes pill Avandia should be pulled from the U.K. market because of concerns that the drug can increase the risk of heart attacks, British drug regulators said Monday.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said an independent panel of experts had advised it that the risks of Avandia outweigh its benefits, and that the drug should no longer be sold in Britain. The body said it had sent a letter to doctors in July advising them to consider alternative treatments.

The British Medical Journal also called for the immediate withdrawal of the drug, saying it should never have been licensed in the first place.

Avandia was approved by the European Medicines Agency in 2000 to help lower blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. The drug is currently under review in Europe and the U.S., and European regulators are scheduled to meet Wednesday to decide Avandia's future.

GSK maintained that its extensive research involving over 50,000 patients has showed that Avandia does not increase the overall risk of heart attack, stroke or death compared to other diabetes drugs.

"We continue to believe that Avandia is safe and effective when it is prescribed appropriately," the London-based company said in a statement.

But the British Medical Journal was critical of both GSK's research methods and the European approval process, outlining what were described as multiple problems associated with Avandia's safety in a report published Monday.

In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration has placed Avandia under scrutiny since 2007, when a study suggested that patients taking the drug were 43 percent more likely to experience heart attack than those taking other diabetes drugs or no diabetes medication.

Texans sign quarterback Leinart to one-year deal

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Former Heisman Trophy winner and free agent Matt Leinart has signed a one-year contract with the Houston Texans, the NFL team said on Tuesday.

Quarterback Leinart, the 10th overall pick in the 2006 draft, was released by the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday after entering their training camp as the starter.

"He's obviously a talented young man to have been the 10th pick in the draft," Texans coach Gary Kubiak told the team's website (http://www.houstontexans.com).

"Those things happen in this business, and it's a chance for him to get a fresh start. We're getting a very smart player who has been productive."

Leinart, the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Southern California, fell out of favor with Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt who gave Derek Anderson the starting job late in the preseason.

Having led USC to two national championships and a 37-2 record, Leinart made an immediate impact with Arizona in 2006, starting 11 games as a rookie and throwing for 2,547 yards with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

He made only five starts in 2007 before his season ended prematurely because of a broken collarbone and then looked on from the sidelines as Kurt Warner led the Cardinals to NFC West titles in 2008 and 2009.

The 27-year-old Leinart will be the number three quarterback for the Texans, behind 2009 Pro Bowler Matt Schaub and Dan Orlovsky.

(Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Frank Pingue)