Walt Disney is teaming with couture bridal designer Kirstie Kelly to create a line of wedding gowns inspired by Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine or Ariel. The dresses come in high-shine satin with ball-gown skirts and make generous use of silver embroidery and crystal. They will cost from $1,100 to $3,000. The gowns will go on sale in made-to-order at bridal boutiques in North America in June. They are an effort by Disney to extend its line of princess paraphernalia to older consumers. Created in 2001 when the company's consumer-products division started packaging its …

Officials in Minnetonka, Minn., recently cut the power to two digital billboards Clear Channel constructed along a freeway, saying they are another dangerous distraction to already multitasking drivers. The move in December has sparked a court fight that local governments and the ad industry alike are watching as digital billboards with fast-changing messages become more prevalent. About 400 of the billboards have been erected nationally. The Outdoor Advertising Association of America estimates that number will grow tenfold in the next decade. Besides being eye-catching, the billboards offer versatility the old-style signs can't match. For instance, sales can be …

Anheuser-Busch's "Here's to Beer" campaign is shifting into its second phase with a focus on activation, following a debut year of awareness building. Despite A-B's efforts, beer's share of the alcohol market shrunk to 50.7% from 51.3% last year, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. Food Network host Dave Lieberman will appear on herestobeer.com soon with educational videos about brew styles and food pairings. Online entertainment will include a standup comedian playing seven historical characters--Genghis Khan, Ben Franklin, Confucius, and Catherine the Great--that visitors can click to have a beer with. "The History …

Cisco Systems and Apple have settled a six-week dispute by agreeing to share the iPhone name and calling for their products to work together in the future. The settlement puts Apple on schedule to start selling its combination iPod music player and mobile phone under the iPhone brand in June. Cisco claimed last month that Apple's iPhone violated a trademark owned by San Jose, California-based Cisco since 2000. Apple, which unveiled the device on Jan. 9 in San Francisco, called the suit "silly" because its iPhone differs from Cisco's Internet-based home phone. Cisco's iPhone, which sells for …

When Brussels Airlines--the successor to the merged SN Brussels and Virgin Express--starts flying March 25, it will have a 14th dot on the stylized "b" that forms its logo. Designer Ronane Hoet's original effort was criticized as unlucky in a barrage of e-mails and calls from superstitious customers in the United States and Italy. Brussels Airlines had the choice to go to 12 dots or 14. It chose 14 because of the religious connotations of the 12 disciples. Luckily, Brussels Airlines is not flying to China, where 14 is a definite no-no. Fourteen--or one-four in Mandarin--sounds …

Bowing to pressure from some parents' groups and doctors, Merck & Co. is immediately suspending its controversial lobbying campaign to get state legislatures to require 11- and 12-year-old girls to get the three-dose vaccine of Gardasil, the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer. The groups objected because the vaccine protects against a sexually transmitted disease--human papilloma virus--which causes cervical cancer. Last month, the AP reported that Merck was channeling money for its state-mandate campaign through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators across the country. Conservative groups opposed the campaign, saying it would …

Ikea is going to charge customers 5 cents for every plastic bag they use to carry their Glasklar dishes and Bibbi Snurr blankets. Proceeds from the surcharge will go to the nonprofit group American Forests to plant trees, with dual goals of restoring forests and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Ikea's U.S. stores went through 70 million plastic bags last year--and officials want to cut that in half over the first year of the "bring your own bag" policy. That would equate to about 1.5 million trees being planted. Ikea also will sell its reusable bags for 59 cents, down …

Green building materials, such as foam insulation and faux wood shingles, are seeing gangbuster sales, despite the national turndown in housing construction. Homes that contain a lot of green features typically cost anywhere from 3% to 5% more to build than a traditional home, but the homeowner usually can recoup the costs through cheaper power bills. The push toward green construction is driven, in part, by rising environmental sensibilities, but many green vendors also point to the rising cost of heating and cooling homes. James Hardie Industries, which makes fiber-cement siding that lasts longer than traditional …

John Donahoe--president of eBay Marketplaces and a likely successor to CEO Med Whitman when she ultimately steps down--hopes to reverse trends -- like declining member growth by improving the overall experience of shopping on the site. Last year, Donahoe cited fraud and abuse on eBay as major problems. It was an overdue admission, in the view of many company critics. They contend eBay tends to sweep such problems under the rug. In one of several moves to address the problem, the company introduced an expanded feedback system in January, allowing buyers to rank the performance of sellers more comprehensively …

Pizza Hut, Disney and CareerBuilder are all trying to tap into the latest marketing trend: getting consumers to create--and then share by e-mail with family and friends--videos about their products. The winner of a Pizza Hut contest being announced today will become an honorary "VP of Pizza" and will get $25,000, free pizza for a year and the use of a car for the three-month job. Candidates enter by uploading videos to www.pizzahut.com/vpofpizza that proclaim their passion for Pizza Hut pizza. The promotion launches just as Disney and CareerBuilder.com wrap up a video contest to be a theme …