Frito-Lay's Cheetos brand will boost its ad spend by more than 50% this year following an internal overhaul in early 2007, when it more than doubled its internal marketing team and installed former Lays marketing exec Dorothy Jones as marketing director. Spending for the new effort was not disclosed. In 2006, the brand spent $22 million on measured media and, through October 2007, had spent $8 million, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus. Though traditionally perceived as a children's brand, consumer research during the retrenching showed that more than 60% of Cheetos consumers were over the age of 18. Moreover, 43% of …

Clorox, which closed a deal for Burt's Bees in November, plans to turn it into a mainstream American brand sold in big-box stores like Wal-Mart. Along the way, Clorox executives plan to learn from unusual business practices at Burt's Bees--many centered on environmental sustainability. Burt's Bees maintains its founders' green philosophies. Employees' bonuses are based, in part, on how well the company meets energy conservation goals, and there are prime parking spaces for staff members who drive hybrid cars or carpool. It buys offsets for 100% of its carbon emissions and is working toward a goal of sending no …

At the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show, during a keynote speech by Chairman Bill Gates, Microsoft will hold a PC "fashion show" with judges--including Nigel Barker of "America's Next Top Model"--to size up various machines and pick three winning designs. Spurred in part by the success of Apple's innovative products, PC makers have begun an overhaul of their machines' appearance. PC makers are replacing boring boxes with sexy silhouettes that will differentiate their products, entice new buyers and command higher prices. They also hope to compensate for factors over which they have little control, such as software options. Unlike …

Auto companies have long relied on pickups as a steady supplier of hefty profits, but final sales tallies announced yesterday show that 2007 is the year the pickup hit the wall. Analysts say that high gas prices, the housing slump and the uncertain economy are causing pickup drivers to hold off trekking to the dealer. At Ford, sales of the F-series pickup fell 13.2% in 2007, even though the F-series was the best-selling vehicle in the country for the 31st straight year. At General Motors, sales of the Chevrolet Silverado-- which got off to a strong start when …

At the world's largest trade show for consumer electronics--starting Monday in Las Vegas--manufacturers will be talking about smart power adapters that don't waste as much electricity, batteries that are easier to recycle, and components made from plants. Many of the products at the Consumer Electronics Show will be striking rather small blows for the environment; still, going "green" can be a powerful marketing tool. Japan's Fujitsu will show off a laptop with a plastic case made from corn rather than petroleum products. The catch is that the material still contains some petroleum-based plastic in the mix for rigidity and …

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to declare as early as next week that meat and milk from cloned animals and their offspring are safe to eat. The declaration would be a milestone for a cadre of biotech companies that want to make a business out of producing copies of prize dairy cows and other farm animals. Consumer wariness toward cloned food, however, may lead to a backlash from opponents in Congress and other markets, such as the European Union. The food industry itself appears to be divided over the issue. Some big food companies say …