In 2003, without warning or announcement, Kellogg killed off the Hydrox cookie--by then rechristened Droxies -- after failing to gain ground against the dominant Oreo, one of the country's best-selling snack foods. While aware that Hydrox cookies were becoming harder to find, many fans are learning only now they are gone and have yet to accept their fate. "This is a dark time in cookie history," writes Gary Nadeau of O'Fallon, Mo., on a Web site devoted to Hydrox. Some devotees have collected 866 signatures on an online petition demanding that Kellogg bring the cookie back. Others in recent …

Sony and Philips announced that they were getting out of the rear-projection TV business last month but Texas Instruments--the chip maker that developed the digital light processor most commonly found in rear-projection TVs--says improved technology will give it new life. At the Consumer Electronics Show last week, the company displayed smaller chips that TV makers could use to create slimmer sets with brighter, high-contrast pictures and smoother motion in the images. It also showed--behind closed doors--projectors tiny enough to fit in a cell phone. The biggest rap against rear-projection TVs is that consumers cannot hang one on the …

The "Gift Monster"--a 60-foot high inflatable character bearing Pepsi Stuff points and merchandise--will make a dozen stops in Manhattan before reaching Times Square today, then will then head to the Super Bowl in Arizona. "As we were thinking about how to show people the scale and size of the program, we kept coming back to this program is really a monster," says Bill Wyman, senior marketing manager-brand activation at Pepsi-Cola North America. Hence, the 60-foot monster which will be giving away CDs, DVDs, Pepsi merchandise, trips, electronics, cash and MP3 music from Amazon.com The monster will also appear …

PepsiCo has labeled Mountain Dew Amp Energy one of its "megabrands" and plans to spend accordingly. A massive ad campaign starring Dale Earnhardt Jr.--which will likely debut during the Super Bowl--three new flavors, a high-profile summer promotion and slew of packaging variations will aim to spur sales of the No. 5 energy drink. The Dale Jr. Collector Series of 12-oz. sleek cans will be available during prime beverage season (May-July). Account-specific packaging began hitting stores last week, including Wal-Mart eight packs for $8.88, a tie-in with Earnhardt's car number 88. Eighty-eight AMP show cars will appear in retail …

A new report finds that Wal-Mart benefits rather than harms the American economy. The study, which was just released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, shows that between 1985 and 2003, personal income, overall employment and retail employment grew faster in counties with a Wal-Mart than in those without one. While it is conventional wisdom that Wal-Mart wipes out local jobs and depresses wages, the report says the opposite is true. "Firm growth, employment and total earnings were somewhat stronger in Wal-Mart counties," it says. Still, according to a Pew study cited by the report, 24% of Americans …