Dell is challenging its competitors to meet its newly set standards for protecting the environment; he's established a program that asks customers to plant a tree for every PC sold. In an announcement yesterday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, chairman Michael Dell also dared the entire industry to adopt the free recycling program it established last year. Three years ago, Dell offered free recycling if a new Dell system was purchased, but last June, it changed the policy to allow consumers to recycle Dell-branded computers for free, even if they did not buy new Dell …

A sales director of a Portland, Maine, marketing firm will see his idea for a National Football League ad appear on the Super Bowl Feb. 4. Chevy and Frito-Lay are running similar promotions for consumer-generated commercials for the game. Gino Bona's idea, under the tagline, "It's hard for us, too," will show scenes of fans' reactions as the Super Bowl comes to an end, paying off bar tabs and consoling each other. Bona will be flown to Los Angeles to oversee production of the commercial, as well as given airfare to Florida and two tickets to the game. …

With consumer acceptance of advertising on cell phones continuing its slow growth and brand marketers creating a "mobile" line item in their ad budgets, mobile marketing in the United States is expected to explode, from $46 million last year to $1.3 billion by 2010. It's not hard to see the attraction for marketers. Cell phones are everywhere; nearly three quarters of adults have one. And the most active users are college kids and affluent business travelers, two of the most highly sought-after demographic groups. Cell phone evolution is also behind the growth. In the past month, Verizon …

In a 21st-century version of "The Hidden Persuaders," a federal policy activist is charging that because of information collected on the Internet, Americans are being "brandwashed" by marketers that are using the data to shape media. But the ad industry sees the manipulation charge as being as "silly" as the 1950s brouhaha over subliminal messaging. Jeff Chester's new book, "Digital Destiny," says marketers are trampling over consumer privacy rights to gather information that can be used to digitally follow users. "It's an ad, ad, ad world," says Chester, executive director of the Center on Digital Democracy. In October, …

A savvy side of Sears that allows consumers to experience its products virtually has been unveiled in Second Life, the popular online community where real people and brands go to get a new, though virtual, life. The Sears Virtual Home, which resides on partner IBM's platform, joins a growing number of brand marketers that have moved into the community, including Lego, Sony BMG, Nike and Circuit City. The 3-D showroom, unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, shows how the use of virtual worlds can transform consumer experience. At Sears, consumers can experiment with changing the …

It had to happen. After decades of urban and suburban sprawl, with baby boomers' nests increasingly emptying and with young, single professionals spurring the suburbs they grew up in, the city's allure is back. The trend of combining stores, restaurants, condos and offices is all the rage, with national retailers rushing into areas they once avoided. In Miami alone, there's almost 1.5 million square feet of retail space under construction, and 5.7 million square feet proposed, despite a slowdown in the condo market. If all gets built and filled with tenants, that would be more than 26 times Miami's …

As Steve Jobs takes the floor at Macworld today, there is rampant speculation that he will announce the development of "iPhone," a combination iPod/cell phone that would be partnered with Cingular Wireless. Such a move would put Mac into the hands of hundreds of millions of people who have cell phones compared to the 70 million iPods out there. Apple could also outline its plans to enter the interactive television business with a product code-named iTV. Such is the speculation that financial analysts are warning that an iPhone no-show could be viewed negatively by investors. There is a growing …

Marketing titan Procter & Gamble is leading the charge into social networking in a big way with two new Web sites targeted primarily to women and developed as online communities where it can do some market research. The move by the world's largest advertiser, likely means more marketers will follow suit. Capessa was produced by P&G for Yahoo's Health section and went up Dec. 21. Videos there include "How I Lost My Baby Weight--Julie's Story" and "Mommy Meltdown--Leiah's Story." The content-development partnership with Yahoo is the biggest social-networking deal Yahoo has done with a marketer. The People's Choice …

Ford is partnering with Airstream to design a vehicle that not only can haul seven people around but appeals to consumers' emotions as well. The only vehicle that ever has done that is the VW bus, says J Mays, Ford's chief of design. The vehicle could become the anti-minivan, which has fallen on tough times in the past several years. Both Ford and General Motors have dropped most of their entries in the waning segment, which numbered about 1.2 million units sold last year, or about 7% of the market. For Airstream, the 75-year-old company best known …

If it can't bring the guests to the hotel, it'll bring the hotel to the guests. That's the thinking behind Choice Hotels International's new marketing campaign that features pop-up guest suites in airports' baggage claim areas. The first 13-by-30-foot model--plugging the chain's upscale Cambria Suites brand--went up at Boise International Airport, where brand ambassadors offer tours, talk up the room's features, and hand out bottled water and mints. It is promoting the brand's first opening there in March and will move on to airports around the country. So far, Choice Hotels has 33 agreements signed to build Cambria Suites. …