If you think marketing guru Sergio Zyman is a tough guy, you're right. Just ask him and he'll tell you. "I have a reputation for being a rough kind of guy," Zyman writes in this article. "From my days at Coca-Cola, there is a perception that I am incredibly demanding, that I just 'point and shoot' when it comes to getting done what I think needs to get done. It's 100 percent true. I have a view that this is the fairest way to deal with whomever you're working with. Business is not simply about ideas, it is about initiatives …

Six months earlier than promised, Apple Computer introduced new Macintosh personal computers with microprocessors from Intel Corp. that will make the machines more competitive with PCs based on Microsoft's Windows operating system. The company also announced record holiday sales that far surpassed their own and analysts projections. For the three months ending December, Apple reported revenue of $5.7 billion, up 63 percent from $3.49 billion in the same period the prior year and $1 billion more than Apple had projected for the quarter. Much of the success came from sales of its iPod digital-music player; Apple sold 14 million iPods …

Sony Music is singing the praises of the gay lifestyle. On Tuesday, the company announced it will introduce a new music label dedicated to nurturing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered artists. Called Music with a Twist, the label is the first of its kind and is being launched in partnership with Wilderness Media & Entertainment, the company led by Matt Farber, who founded MTV Networks' new gay and lesbian channel LOGO. "It's an idea whose time has come," Farber said. "Only now are media and entertainment brands being created for the gay and lesbian audience following the success of brands …

General Motors Corp. is implementing a value-oriented, low-price strategy for four of its top brands to more effectively compete with Asian automakers. The company announced that lower sticker prices will be applied to 57 of the company's 76 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Pontiac models. The Chevrolet effort will be backed by a national TV blitz beginning this week in which the company bills itself as "America's No. 1 brand. America's No. 1 value." "We are serious about getting our value and price story to the marketplace," said Mark LaNeve, vice president-vehicle sales, service and marketing in North America. "We'd like …

Already scheduled to run a 30-second TV spot on the Super Bowl next month, Burger King has also launched a sweepstakes tied to the big game in which consumers can win a chance to go to the event via a text-messaging campaign. NFL-themed packages of the fast-food marketer's Chicken Fries will contain an entry code that participants can send in via text message for a chance to win. The grand prize is a trip for two to the big game on Feb. 5. Other prizes include five trips for two to the Pro Bowl game in Hawaii, two 2006 Hummers …

Steve Lyons, Ford Motor Co.'s North American marketing boss, is retiring after a 34-year career with the company. His departure is expected to spark a round of management changes at the automaker; some should be announced later this month, pending approval by Ford's board of directors. Lyons' move comes at a difficult time for the automaker. After losing money and market share in North America last year, the company is preparing to launch a turnaround plan on Jan. 23 that will include plant closings, job cuts and new product plans. His successor is likely to be Francisco Codina, currently a …

The controversy over the advertising of prescription drugs to consumers is having a direct impact on the tone and overall approach of campaigns for drugs that treat erectile dysfunction. Two of the medications, Cialis and Viagra, have altered or refocused their campaigns to deliver a more restrained message. The moves follow criticism that the previous ads took more of a hard-sell and sometimes salacious attitude that some found offensive. Just this week, the National Football League said it will discontinue its sponsorship deal in the category of impotence drugs when its current contract expires on March 31. In the new …

Hasbro is welcoming such luminaries as Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, X-Men and Captain America into its stable of action characters. The toy marketer just secured a new, five-year deal with Marvel Entertainment for the rights to use Marvel's 5,000 characters for toys, board games, and puzzles in return for guaranteed royalty payments of $205 million. The first toys are scheduled to reach the market Jan. 1, 2007. To cut the deal, Marvel canceled its licensing agreement with Toy Biz Worldwide Ltd. on Dec. 31, a year earlier than scheduled. It will book a cash charge of $13 million to $16 …

The Super Bowl will be telecast Feb. 5 and everyone knows what that means. As usual, the commercials will get as much attention as the game itself--and sometimes even more, depending on the participants. This year's lineup of advertisers contains many of the usual suspects as well as a few surprises. On hand once again is Anheuser-Busch, a longtime Bowl advertiser, which has bought ten spots that will run throughout the game. Other familiar faces include Pepsi-Cola, Burger King, Federal Express, Ford Motor and General Motors. Less likely marketers bellying up the estimated $2.4 million per 30-secopnd spots include Emerald …

Kellogg Co. is extending its sponsorship of six Olympic athletes into a new promotion for its Frosted Flakes brand. The six athletes, snowboarders Ross Powers and Lindsey Jacobellis; skiers Toby Dawson and Resi Stiegler; and speed skaters Derek Parra and Jennifer Rodriguez, will appear on Frosted Flakes boxes and in TV spots that will air during the games, scheduled to be broadcast next month from Torino, Italy. The cereal boxes will also carry codes, called Olympic Press Passes, that kids can use to access sections of Kellogg's "Earn Your Stripes" Web site to read the athletes' journal entries and tips …