Pfizer has started a television advertising campaign for the drug Lyrica--the first approved to treat fibromyalgia-but some doctors say that the disease does not exist, and that Lyrica and similar drugs will be taken by millions of people who do not need them. Fibromyalgia is characterized by chronic, widespread pain of unknown origin and primarily affects middle-aged women. Advocacy groups and doctors who treat it estimate that 2% to 4% of adult Americans suffer from the disorder. Because fibromyalgia patients typically do not respond to conventional painkillers like aspirin, drug makers are focusing on medicines like Lyrica that affect …

Wal-Mart has secured leases on four properties southeast of Phoenix to compete with the new Fresh & Easy markets being rolled out in the U.S. by Tesco, the British grocer. The new pilot stores--to be called "Marketside"--are about 20,000 square feet, a tenth of the size of the typical Wal-Mart Supercenter. Its new logo, filed in planning documents in Arizona and consisting of green lettering with a stylised tomato, egg and grape topped by a Wal-Mart blue star, suggests the format will--like Tesco's Fresh & Easy--have a far stronger stress on fresh foods. The retailer has also registered …

In a move that could increase coupon use by attracting shoppers who don't bother with paper coupons, supermarket chains around the country are testing online digital coupons that shoppers load onto their store loyalty cards, receiving the credit at checkout. Kroger and Procter & Gamble are partners in a digital coupon trial that began last month Ken Fenyo, Kroger's vice president for corporate loyalty, says Kroger means to complement traditional paper coupons but expects to expand its current pilot program as part of its recently overhauled Web site. It will use e-mails to alert customers that coupons for products …

Chrysler vice president-CMO Deborah Wahl Meyer showed spots from an upcoming ad campaign at the Detroit Adcraft lunch on Friday that are themed "the new day" at the "new Chrysler." The commercials--which break next month--use third-party testimonials to tout Chrysler vehicles' interiors, quality, warranty and value. "When people look at American cars, they just assume they might break," Meyer says. It is her job to turn that perception around. Meyer says the biggest difference between Chrysler and her former employers--Toyota and Ford--is how quickly the automaker can make decisions. A verdict on a new campaign or strategy can …

By constantly redesigning its products and introducing new ones-- and then trumpeting the changes in high-profile marketing campaigns--Apple has habituated many of its customers to living in a continuous upgrade cycle for new gadgets. The risk is that it may disappoint consumers who feel their new purchases are instantly outmoded. The Fox comedy show "MADtv" captured this recently in a spoof of an iPod advertising campaign featuring the musician Feist. In the segment, a look-alike for the Canadian singer croons about her unhappiness after a $400 iPod purchase at an Apple store. "And just after my purchase was …