London-based InterContinental Hotels Group hopes to revive the image of the Holiday Inn chain, which has suffered as newer competitors have cashed in on its traditional strength: consistent quality at an affordable price. It is shedding roughly half the nearly 1,100 properties that it had in 2004, mainly by ending franchise agreements with operators of substandard properties. The multiyear campaign to remove the brand from outdated hotels--the largest cutback of its kind ever undertaken by a single chain--is expected to be complete in 2009. By the time the campaign ends, Holiday Inn will have removed about 100,000 …

A $10 million branding campaign launching in mid-August will modernize Lord & Taylor's image. At the same time, it promotes the 181-year-old store's heritage and its "unapologetically classic, multigenerational" approach to style, says president and CEO Jane Elfers. The effort follows four years of store closings, re-merchandising and ownership changes. The $10 million-plus expense is just for this year's branding effort, and will be completely separate from newspaper advertising. Those ads will continue to focus on product and sales. The campaign, created by ad guru David Lipman, will launch with multipage spreads in Vogue and Vanity Fair, …

For the first time, Google's revenue edged out Microsoft's sales of Windows for PCs in quarterly results last week, underscoring the rise of the Internet as a focal point of the modern computing world. Overall, Microsoft as a company still posts considerably higher revenue than Google, and it still makes a much bigger profit from its PC operating system than Google makes from its business. But the results show the growing financial clout of Google, founded less than a decade ago. And it explains why Microsoft--at more than 30 years of age--is trying to make itself a viable …

The biggest benefit deriving from Wal-Mart's announcement that it is allowing consumers to review and rate products on its Web site may be how the decision affects performance of the Wal-Mart online store and the goods it sells in search-engine rankings, a crucial factor in the performance of online retailers. The reviews give Wal-Mart thousands of additional pages of content to be indexed by major search engines, which look favorably on unique content--such as reviews--compared with pages with basic product details that any retailer could have. Wal-Mart is the largest bricks-and-mortar retailer by some stretch, but in June, …

Wal-Mart says it is lowering prices on more than 16,000 products across all stores, in conjunction with a new ad campaign on how to save money as gas prices remain high and kids head back to school. The company said families with schoolage children are expected to spend an average of $563 this year on back-to-school supplies. Under its new pricing plan, $1 will buy four wide-ruled notebooks, and $50 will be able to purchase a week's worth of school clothes.

As the media and marketing industries focus on Rupert Murdoch's quest for Dow Jones, a little-known sideshow highlights allegedly unsavory business practices on the part of News Corp. And a former employee of subsidiary News America, which comprises the bulk of News Corp.'s magazines and inserts division, may be planning to spill some ugly secrets. Robert Emmel, a former account manager who worked in in-store marketing, was fired late last year. A few months later, after a competitor subpoenaed him as part of its lawsuit, Emmel revealed he had kept a copy of his computer hard drive because, he …

On Saturday, Ben & Jerry's will debut a one-time-only flavor linked to the premier of "The Simpsons Movie." Duff & D'oh-Nuts is described as a combo of chocolate and cream stout ice cream with glazed chocolate doughnuts, sure to appeal to Homer Simpson. A Ben & Jerry's spokesperson says the beer-and-doughnut ice cream was far from the most unusual one-day-only offering produced at Ben & Jerry's. "We've done some pretty wacky flavors in the past," he said. "We've done hot chocolate, which was chocolate with chili powder, jalapeno lime. ... We've had chips 'n' dip that …

Hyundai today breaks a national campaign based on the idea that -- "Duh" -- choosing a Hyundai is a no-brainer. The automaker's "Big Duh Sales Event" includes national and spot broadcast TV, newspapers, bumper stickers and online from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, S.F. Remixed classics such as Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5" have been remixed at thebigduhsale.com, where prospects who test-drive a Hyundai will get a free CD of all eight songs. They'll also be able to create their own "Duh" songs there. The sales event runs through Sept. 4 and offers "bonus cash" on existing rebates, Hyundai …

Chrysler has pulled an ad showing a dog going up in flames and apologized for it. Created by BBDO Netherlands, the ad shows a dog being electrocuted after urinating on a Dodge Nitro SUV. The agency is part of Omnicom Group's BBDO Worldwide. Chrysler says the ad, which "goes far beyond the bounds of what the company considers appropriate," was only on the Internet. "Although European commercials -- especially 'viral' ads like this one -- are often edgier, this one went over the edge," Chrysler said in the statement. Last year, the company was criticized by gay …

Nike is suspending the release of its fifth Michael Vick line of shoes -- the Air Zoom Vic V -- as the Atlanta Falcons quarterback faces federal arraignment for allegedly sponsoring a dog-fighting operation. However, Nike will keep the four shoe products and three shirts that bear Vick's name in stores, saying the company still had a contract with the player. It would not speculate on his future. A statement released by Nike Inc. said the company "is concerned by the serious and highly disturbing allegations made against Michael Vick, and we consider any cruelty to animals inhumane …