51% of mobile users play games on their devices; digital video ad spend to double in next four years; advertisers and agencies will increase budgets for audience-targeting solutions

In the world of digital advertising, if you turn away for a second, you might miss the next big thing. To help you keep you up to date on the news you need to know, every week we’ll bring you ad stories you might have missed, but can't afford to ignore.

More than half of mobile users play games

Web browsing and email may be the top two activities for mobile users, but a new survey by CouponCabin.com finds that 51% of mobile device owners play games. And they play them a lot. The survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults age 18 and older found that:

• 11% play more than once a day
• 21% play at last once a day
• 41% play once a week

Bold ad offers wealth of features including videos, galleries, social sharing, and a Jazz Age avatar creator to draw viewers into the film

The latest film version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel “The Great Gatsby” is a lavish production that’s typical of director Baz Luhrmann’s style ("Romeo + Juliet" and "Moulin Rouge!"). Everything Luhrmann does has a distinct visual flair, so it’s fitting that Warner Brothers went big and flashy with a full-page custom takeover on the Yahoo.com homepage that puts the “rich” in rich media.

To get viewers hooked on the tale of Jazz Age excess and disillusionment, the ad offers a wealth of engaging features, including videos, galleries, an abundance of behind-the-scenes content, and even a cool avatar creator that lets you outfit yourself in fine Gatsby-era style.

Here’s how it works.

Stop straining to come up with new ad ideas. Just choose from this list of six.

Advertising creatives spend all their time trying to come up with ideas that have never been done before, but some ad experts think there may be a limited supply. For example, a recent Ad Week panel explored the theory that there are only seven types of stories used in everything from movies to ads (the quest, rags to riches, etc.).  Our own David T. Jones, a veteran ad creative himself, believes there are only six types of ads.

Of course, the real challenge is finding the type of ad and story that best fits your brand, and then bringing them to life with consummate skill and creativity. But that’s another cartoon.

Check out the full cartoon after the jump.

86% of U.S. consumers plan to travel this summer. Here’s a look at their habits and preferences.

Warm weather is finally here, and consumers are already starting to book their summer trips. Savvy marketers are fine-tuning their summer display, mobile, and search travel campaigns now, and with good reason. Buoyed by a rising economy, spending on summer travel is forecast to increase this year, according to a recent survey of U.S. consumers by TripAdvisor:

• 86% plan to travel this summer, a 7% increase from last year
• 25% expect to spend more than they did last year; 53% will spend the same
• 71% would book a trip on the spur of the moment if they see a last-minute deal

Here are some insights into the spending habits of this year’s summer travelers, and how they’re using multiple screens to plan and book their vacations.

Submit and vote for SEM questions to be answered at our wide-open webinar on June 25

On June 25, we’re presenting the “Ask Me Anything” search webinar, which puts the audience in charge of what will be discussed. That’s right, there are no prepackaged scripts or PowerPoint presentations. All content in the webinar will be based on questions that you andother advertisers submit to our webinar forum and vote on before the event. The winning questions will be answered by Chris Sanger, Senior Director of Global Search Product Management at Yahoo!

Want to know more about the latest search ad formats and platform enhancements? Best SEM practices? Tips on how to increase efficiency and build your ROI? Here’s your chance to ask our search expert whatever you want. Here’s how the webinar works:

• Register now for our webinar
• Join the “Ask Me Anything” Forum, where you can easily submit and vote on questions. Bookmark the site to keep submitting questions and vote on others’ submissions until June 25.
• Attend the June 25 webinar to hear Chris tackle the most popular questions live.

Ad execs talk about how cutting-edge fashion brands are tailoring technology to fit their marketing plans in exciting new ways

Editor's Note: Once again, we gather some ad agency friends around the virtual water cooler to get their answers to a burning industry question. This time we asked them, “What can brands and advertisers learn from the world of fashion marketing?”

Julie Michael, Executive Director, Team One

Fashion is about interesting details. The best brands pay attention to the details, and they care about creating and telling the stories behind those details. Burberry and LVMH are brands that often get it right. Their heritage is a big piece of their craftsmanship story, but that story continues to get expressed in modern, digital, and useful ways. The secret sauce is to always pair fashion with function. A marketing effort that serves a useful purpose, tells an interesting story, or meets an unmet need will win every time over a purely visual exercise—which proves, once again, that beauty is more than skin deep.

Carolyn Hadlock, Partner/ Executive Creative Director, Young & Laramore

It's difficult to separate fashion from branding, because fashion defines culture, and that's where advertising looks for inspiration. In rare cases, culture influences fashion. For example, take the Gatsby collection that was just released this week from Tiffany. The hotly anticipated summer blockbuster gave the Tiffany brand a lift through earned and social media. Fashion is even infusing the utility/work brand Carhartt with its new Carhartt WIP line that just opened its flagship store in New York. I think that brands that fit in lifestyle or enthusiast categories should have a stylist on staff to help track and leverage fashion for their brands.

Study forecasts $39 billion in mcommerce sales this year, with 65% coming via tablets

Retail ecommerce spending in the U.S. is setting a blistering pace this year, exceeding $50 billion in Q1 for only the second quarter on record. That’s a 13% increase year over year.

Mobile commerce is a big driver of this strong driver of this performance, according to recent reports. They also show definite differences in smartphone and tablet use that marketers can use to fine-tune their mobile campaigns.

Here’s the big picture. Mobile commerce is having an “outsize impact” on the ecommerce world, says eMarketer, and its forecasts for mobile’s performance in 2013 paint a picture of gargantuan growth:

First stop is May 23 in NYC, where 133 companies will open their doors, including dozens in online advertising

If you want to get up close with innovative companies, including many in digital advertising, OpenCo events are a great way to do it. There are four events this year, starting in New York on May 23, and then moving onto London, Detroit, and San Francisco. We’re proud to be a corporate sponsor of OpenCo.

OpenCo New York kicks off the series in style, where 133 companies around the city will open their doors to share their visions, values, and perspectives on doing business in a spirit of collaboration and open communication. These host companies include dozens in the digital ad business, from well-known names such as Edelman, Blue Kai, and Mashable to newer stars like ooVoo, Quantcast, and Droga5. We'll be part of the action too, sharing insights into our mobile initiatives and directions at our session.