General Motors plans to introduce a remote-control key fob next April that will allow drivers to determine the pressure in each tire, check the odometer reading, and find out whether there's enough fuel in the tank. It can also change radio station settings and see if you remembered to lock the car doors. GM says it will be the first to offer remote two-way communication with the vehicle using a liquid-crystal display on the fob. The fob will operate at four to six times the range of competitors' keyless entry systems, GM says. The device will be a …

Clearasil is using teachers to distribute brochures and product samples to students, again raising the hot-button issue of marketing to children in schools. The Clearasil brochure bills the brand as "Clear. Smooth. Cool," and advises children to "Get the jump on pimples, acne and oil with Clearasil." It includes pictures and blurbs on five products. "It's totally inappropriate to run a sampling or advertising program in school for an over-the-counter medication targeting impressionable children," says Gary Ruskin, director of the advocacy group Commercial Alert. Reckitt Benckiser--which inherited the program when it acquired Clearasil as part of its buy …

Cornucopia Institute, an activist group representing small farmers, has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, claiming that Wal-Mart incorrectly labeled several products as organic. The group alleges that several Wal-Mart stores had labeled Stonyfield Farm all-natural yogurt as organic. It also says several outlets had included non-organic products, such as tofu, egg-roll wrappers and juice, in a cooler designated for organic produce. In an e-mail, Wal-Mart spokeswoman Karen A. Burk points out that one of the group's founders, Mark Kastel, had worked for Organic Valley, a national farming cooperative that competes with several of Wal-Mart's suppliers. …

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says online services like search, email, blogging and mapping technology will be the most important technological developments of the next decade, yet Microsoft's Web division perennially loses money, while Google's rival business thrives. But Ballmer points out that just because Google is winning that battle doesn't mean it has the best model. Microsoft's vision for the future of Web services involves software, the company's core business. Ballmer says Web services will work in tandem with PC-installed software, whereas Google thinks that everything will be Web-based, eliminating the need for software. Microsoft has …

The consumer automotive Web site Edmunds.com has named the Toyota Tundra the most significant vehicle of the year, but the pickup will face stiff competition from its Big Three counterparts, which account for more than 90% of all U.S. full-size truck sales.

General Mills has raised its sales of its Betty Crocker corn-muffin mix 22.3% in the 12 months ending in September 2006 by repositioning it to appeal more to African-Americans. Blacks, who account for roughly 13% of the U.S. population, buy 36% of all cornbread mix sold in the U.S. General Mills' mix has trailed Chelsea Milling Co.'s Jiffy--whose success appears to be based mainly on its value pricing and customer loyalty--in the muffin-mix market for years. Three years ago, a new brand manager turned to Black Champions, General Mills' black employees group, for insights on how African-Americans use the …

KFC is changing its logo for only the fourth time in 50 years. In the new design, a smiling, well-defined Colonel Harland Sanders is featured against a red background that matches his red apron, with the KFC brand name in black, thick lettering under his chin. The fast-food chain, which is owned by Yum Brands, will also upgrade newly built stores throughout the world over the next 12 months. The store designs will include new graphics, with the Kentucky Fried Chicken name and signs that read "Finger Lickin' Good" and "11 Secret Herbs and Spices." The company also said …

Facing increasing competition from cable and satellite providers that are marketing their own digital video recorders, TiVo will announce new features today that it hopes will differentiate it from the pack. The most prominent innovation will let TiVo subscribers convert non-copy-protected videos on their PC into a format playable on TV. People with home networks can add the videos to the "Now Playing" list of TV shows on their TiVo DVR and view them with a click of the remote. "The volume of Internet video is going to grow astronomically," says TiVo CEO Tom Rogers. "And for many people, …

Quiznos Sub certainly isn't the first marketer to invite its consumers to produce a TV ad, but it has added a bit of spice to the concept. The spots must pit Quiznos against its main competitor, Subway. Quiznos is partnering with iFilm, an online video network, to launch the contest. Entrants have a chance to win $10,000 a year of Quiznos food, and have their spot aired nationally. Videos no more than 45 seconds long can be submitted at MeatNoMeat.com. VH1 talent and the creative team at Quiznos will judge the commercials. The chain recently launched one of …

The mail-in rebate--a process purposely designed to be complicated for consumers--is gradually dying out. Besides being unpopular with shoppers who have to meticulously assemble receipts, UPC codes, and coupons, retailers and manufacturers are unhappy, too. OfficeMax, the No. 3 office supplies store, has cut rebates out entirely, and Best Buy says it has eliminated more than 65% and will do away with them completely by April. Hewlett-Packard is gradually reducing rebates. Dell, which sells its equipment directly to customers, is also retiring the promotional tool. Whether the rebates are mail-in or via the Internet, marketers count on consumers …