What's new at this year's Consumer Electronics Show? A scheduling oddity has Apple's Steve Jobs taking the floor at his own Macworld in San Francisco tomorrow morning at the same time Michael Dell takes the mike in Vegas. CES, celebrating 40 years, is starting to look its age. Instead of launching revolutionary new products, the Las Vegas Convention Center will be offering variations on old themes. High-definition TVs, DVD formats, video recorders and media-focused PCs and chips all hit the market in the past few years. So this year, expect more talk about tying the gizmos in your …

While the batteries needed to power it may be years away from widespread use in cars, General Motors unveiled the Chevrolet Volt, designed to run primarily on electricity and--with a 40-mile range before recharge--getting most commuters to and from work without using a drop of gasoline. General Motors Chairman G. Richard Wagoner Jr. vowed to give the technology high priority in a sign that automakers are taking on global warming and America's dependence on foreign oil. In 1990, GM introduced an all-electric car and may have had the market to itself had it not balked at spending $300 million …

A brash Kodak video is ranking high on viral-video charts and garnering big laughs and praise for its slightly tongue-in-cheek exultation of its new technology. In the video, a silver-haired actor begins a staid presentation exalting the "Eastman Kodak Co." and its creation of "Kodak moments." The video quickly digresses into an increasingly energetic pitch building to a frenzied cry: "You were a Kodak moment once, and by God, you'll be one again. Only this time, it's digital." The video began as an internal presentation for the Wall Street Journal's "D: All Things Digital" conference last …

Microsoft is expected to lay out a strategy of "connected entertainment" when founder Bill Gates and co-president Robbie Bach deliver a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show, which kicks off in Las Vegas this weekend. A three-page memo that Back sent to Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer last month called for more integration with other Microsoft units and outside partners, such as Hollywood studios. Bach will likely demonstrate some of the early work, including a service for renting movies online via the Xbox 360. Bach came to Microsoft 18 years ago with an MBA from Stanford …

Demand for Super Bowl spots is as ardent as ever 30 days before kickoff, even as Madison Avenue is anxiously seeking alternatives to traditional selling tactics, like TV commercials. CBS has sold about 80% of the available advertising time, which totals about 30 minutes, for a record estimated average of $2.6 million for each 30-second spot. Super Bowl advertising is "about the next day," says Andrew Burke, vice president for marketing at Diamond Foods in Stockton, Calif. "People in their office say to each other, 'Did you see that guy in that Super Bowl commercial?' " Other …

General Motors chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner promises to give Toyota a fight in its quest to overtake the Detroit automaker as the world's No. 1 auto company. It has held the pole position since 1931. "We like being No. 1, and our people take pride in it, so it's not something we would sit back and let somebody just pass us by," says Wagoner. "And if one day we lose it, we'll fight to get it back." GM sold 9.1 million vehicles globally in 2006, down from almost 9.2 million the previous year. Toyota, which sold …

Saks Fifth Avenue executives have unveiled the company's seventh logo since 1940--a bold black-and-white creation that harks back to the department store's early years, but suggests freshness and possibilities. They hope the revamped logo will do what its previous incarnations have not. They want the new signature look to be "similar to the Burberry Nova Check and the Louis Vuitton LV, [becoming] an enduring icon, synonymous with Saks Fifth Avenue style." Nowhere in press materials or in interviews do Saks officials say they are repositioning to attract younger shoppers. In fact, executives are careful to stress their …

Campbell Soup has launch the first of four 15-second TV ads that will revive its "Wow, I could've had a V8!" tagline, first used 25 years ago. The company is looking to boost consumption among light-to-medium V8 users and consumers who don't eat the recommended five daily servings of vegetables. The spot, via Young & Rubicam, shows a couple concluding their dinner at a restaurant when the waiter arrives to pick up the plates. The man returns his plate with a guilty look because it contains uneaten vegetables. The tagline is tweaked by a "Bop!" a sound …

PepsiCo has signed tennis star--and endorsement maven--Maria Sharapova to a deal to endorse its Gatorade and Tropicana brands. Company officials say Sharapova will lead a global hydration education campaign, plus star in a new Gatorade ad to launch early this year. The deal adds to Sharapova's rapidly growing list of major endorsements worldwide. The defending U.S. Open champion, who turns 20 this April, signed a "lifetime" deal with racket and apparel company Prince last year for a reported $25 million. She also endorses Canon, Colgate, Nike, Tag Heuer, Land Rover and others. Sharapova finished behind only Justine …

The number of FSI pages last year hit a record 200 billion, up just over 1% for the year, according to FSI tracking service Marx Promotion Intelligence. Packaged-goods brands accounted for 67.4% of all FSI pages, followed by direct response ads (23.4%) and franchised restaurants (9.2%). The 10 manufacturers that dropped the most coupons last year were Procter & Gamble; General Mills; SC Johnson & Son; Unilever; Reckitt Benckiser; Nestle; Johnson & Johnson; Altria Group (including Kraft Foods); Colgate-Palmolive Co. and Kimberly-Clark Corp. The top 10 product categories for coupon distribution were household cleaning products (12.4 million …