Starbucks' Via instant coffee will hit the shelves in tens of thousands of supermarkets, mass merchandisers and other outlets in coming weeks, Kevin Helliker reports, joining restaurant brands such as California Pizza Kitchen and P.F. Chang's China Bistro in the presumed rush to retail riches.

"It's an intriguing question how far Starbucks the coffee shop can morph into Starbucks the brand," says William Blair & Co. analyst Sharon Zackfia, who points out that in always swinging for the fences, founder/CEO Howard Schultz sometimes strikes out.

For his part, Schultz says that creating a "very significant consumer packaged goods" business is a "centerpiece" of the company's growth strategy. Without elaborating on specifics, he suggested that a "pipeline" of new products would follow the Via model in the next 12 to 18 months. He also hints that the company's popular loyalty card will figure in the marketing for Starbucks grocery products. Read the whole story...

It seems like forever ago since Holiday Inn announced a general spruce-up of its hotels and image, but it only began last year. Now the 2,200-location chain is rolling out its first integrated global campaign -- a $100 million effort from McCann Erickson across nine markets with the theme "Stay You."

Components include TV, print, online, out of home and social media across the nine markets, says Kevin Kowalski, svp of global brand management for Holiday Inn brands. The ads play on the double meaning of the word "Stay," Elena Malykhina reports. In one ad, a man grills in the rain next to text that says, "Stay determined." In another, a girl puts a tiara on her father's head accompanied by the text "Stay dad" as an upbeat song conveys optimism.

"This year is going to be more of an emotional refresh," says Steve Ohler, executive creative director at McCann World Group. "We wanted people to feel that Holiday Inn is opening its arms." Read the whole story...

Long before The New Frugality began to grab us by the short hairs about 18 months ago, it was clear in certain quarters that conspicuous consumption was gauche. But we shouldn't feel so smug about those farmer's market veggies in the crisper and the compost turner in the backyard. Or, perhaps the point is that we do feel so smug about it.

Andrew Potter calls it "conspicuous authenticity" in a book he's written titled The Authenticity Hoax: How We Get Lost Finding Ourselves. The social critic, a self-confessed indulger in authentically conspicuous activities such as canoe trips in the Canadian wilderness himself, tells Tess Vigeland: "What we do now is we show off that even though we have all the stuff -- a nice house, a nice car -- we're not really spiritually connected to any of it."

Okay, so what's the problem? asks Vigeland. Well, it's a rather convoluted theory that has something to do with social climbing by putting mud floors in your house, on the one hand, and is akin to having the right connections to get booze during Prohibition on the other. I'm not sure where folks who build their own stills in the woods fit in, but if people who put no-flush toilets in their Manhattan condos are your target, the book may be worth a read. Read the whole story...

Dave Burwick, who rose through the marketing ranks at PepsiCo and left the company last July as CMO of North American Beverages, is becoming president-North America at Weight Watchers. He will be responsible for the company's meetings-operations unit, which includes products, publishing and licensing business, as well as marketing.

"While there were a lot of CMO roles out there and some were tempting, I wanted to run a P&L," he says. "That's why I left [PepsiCo]." He will be based in New York and report to David Kirchhoff, president-CEO of Weight Watchers.

Burwick was actively looking to join a company that has a living or health-and-wellness bent, Natalie Zmuda reports "It's a really exciting space that is only going to get more important every day," he told her. Read the whole story...

Although Adidas has been an official supplier and licensee of the FIFA World Cup since 1970, rival Nike, or one of its divisions, will outfit 10 of the 32 national teams playing in the tournament this year, Barry Janoff reports. The U.S. is one of them.

Nike's 2010 World Cup roster also includes Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Portugal, South Korea, The Netherlands, Slovenia and Serbia. The Adidas list of 2010 World Cup teams is Argentina, Cameroon, Denmark, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Paraguay, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Uruguay and host South Africa.

The other nations will be outfitted by Puma (Algeria, Cote D'Ivoire-Ivory Coast); Brooks, a division of Russell, owned by Berkshire Hathaway (Chile); Joma (Honduras) and Pirma (North Korea). Read the whole story...

The refugee from Nazi Europe was a retired paper cup executive. The trim blue-and-white cardboard cup of Grecian design dates to the 1960s. Called the Anthora, it says, "We Are Happy To Serve You," and it has served "hundreds of millions" cups of joe. Read the whole story...

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