One beef about gift cards has been that they are impersonal. A piece of plastic with a magnetic strip and a note telling the recipient exactly how much you spent. So some retailers are finding creative ways to give it added punch. One Circuit City gift card works as a DVD when inserted into a PC. It includes a snowball-fight video game, as well as an offer for 50 free downloads from eMusic, holiday screensavers, wallpaper and printable gift labels. Best Buy sells a SpongeBob SquarePants DVD gift card with games such as "Creature from the …

Wendy's commercials to be broadcast nationally on Fox Sports football games this weekend feature an emerging technology that allows advertisers to vary their message at the last minute. The ads create a reverse product placement. Instead of inserting Wendy's fries into a TV program, the company will incorporate a show's content in its commercials. The spots star animated raccoons that will adjust their pitch, depending on what's happening in the game. If the score is 0-0, an ad might start with a Wendy's raccoon standing in front of an overturned trash can, saying, "I may be nocturnal, …

NASCAR is searching for a replacement title sponsor after Anheuser-Busch announced this week that it will not renew its sponsorship of the Busch Series when its contract expires in 2007. The Busch Series officially began in 1984, but NASCAR's alliances with the company date back to the 1950s. ESPN, which replaces NBC as a NASCAR broadcast partner in 2007, will join in the search for a new national brand to promote the series. Analysts said title sponsorship could go for between $35 million to $40 million per year, which is estimated to be at least three times …

Valassis Communications, the largest provider of newspaper inserts, and Advo, the direct-mail marketer, agreed to end their disagreements yesterday and announced that they would complete a merger that has been in the works since July. The combined company will be the largest media- services provider in the U.S., serving 20,000 advertisers worldwide, including 94 of the top 100. Valassis filed suit in September seeking to back out of its agreement to buy Advo for $1.3 billion. It claimed the company had misrepresented its financial results in the second quarter. The two companies came to terms after …

On a recent Saturday, a 40-minute line stretched to the end of a block outside American Girl Place on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. It's one of three American Girl stores in the country--the others are in Chicago and Los Angeles--that have become a tourist destination for girls and their parents. American Girl markets a line of historical dolls that hail from Colonial, pioneer and World War II periods, among others. The dolls are obsessed, in various incarnations, with horses, reading and friends--not boys. The price for a basic doll and introductory book is $87. Employees in …

M80, a word-of-mouth promotion company bought by ad-holding firm WPP in June, has developed campaigns for marketers as varied as Texas Instruments, Sears, 20th Century Fox and Nestlé. Dave Neupert, who founded M80 in 1998, believes that online conversations can have as much weight in today's world as face-to-face encounters, even though the latter are admittedly "more powerful." He says that influencers online can drive offline conversations and social events. While admitting that not every brand is right for word-of-mouth marketing, Neupert contends that there are enthusiasts for even mundane products. "You might not have the …

The concept of brand icon takes on new meaning in an exhibit in which nine artists, architects and designers apply their own visionary approach to nine of Louis Vuitton's bags. Hosted by Espace Louis Vuitton, the "Icons" exhibition is at the dedicated gallery space in the Louis Vuitton flagship store in Paris through December 31. Zaha Hadid is the star of the show, and her commissioned work here keeps with her usual exhibition themes--monochromatic white pedestals swoop up to present her redesign of the "Bucket" purse, while also serving as sleek chairs. Hadid's graceful design does the most for …

American Apparel, the hip Los Angeles apparel and retail company known for sexually provocative marketing, announced today that it will be acquired by a so-called specified purpose acquisition company called Endeavor Acquisition Corp. Hooking up with Endeavor is a way for the fast-growing retail chain to expand rapidly--especially overseas--without going through the lengthy process of an initial public offering. The Los Angeles-based company is best known for hawking its snug-fitting T-shirts and cotton underwear with sultry advertising. It makes nearly all of its products in a multistory factory in Los Angeles rather than overseas. American …

Most retailers have stuck to planned discounts throughout the holiday season, not buckling to pressures from shoppers waiting for the best deals. But after pulling in better-than-expected crowds on Black Friday, the start of the holiday shopping season, shoppers have been returning to stores at a slower-than-expected pace after a post-Thanksgiving lull. "It has been a bit sluggish in the month," says Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers. "Everyone is counting on the last days, but I am still optimistic." Meanwhile, in cyberspace, retailers are making it easier for procrastinators by …

Smith & Wesson, whose firearms already account for 47% of national revolver sales, said yesterday that it is buying Thompson/Center Arms, a company that specializes in muzzleloaders and rimfire rifles. The move lets Smith & Wesson target the $1.1 billion long gun market, which is 80% larger than the country's handgun market, according to CEO Mike Golden. Hollywood helped make Smith & Wesson famous by putting its .44 magnum in the hands of Inspector Harry Callahan, played by Clint Eastwood in a series of "Dirty Harry" movies. The company introduced a line of tactical rifles in March, but …