The Mayflower Hotel--where then-New York Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer's purported assignation with a call girl supposedly took place--has been awash with tourists, gawkers and assorted voyeurs. The center of the storm has been the hotel's tiny gift shop, stocked with merchandise bearing the Mayflower logo and the catchphrase coined by Harry S. Truman: "Washington's Second Best Address." Sales have increased sharply since the Spitzer scandal, says resident manager Joseph Cardone. There has been a rush on the Mayflower's luxuriously soft white terry-cloth bathrobes, which cost $69.99. Mayflower mints are also popular, with one person snatching up two …

Bacardi's new Champions Drink Responsibly advertising campaign features Formula 1 racecar driver Michael Schumacher as its "global social responsibility ambassador." In the campaign, Schumacher urges consumers to take a taxi when they go out drinking. It will roll out in 40 countries with ads, promotional events and digital media. The television commercial shows two valets outside a nightclub fighting over who is going to park Schumacher's car. When Schumacher pulls up in a taxi and gets out, he explains, "When I go for a drink, my car stays at home." The campaign is part of an increased …

At recent cheerleading camps across the country, Propel, a unit of Gatorade, sponsored "hydration breaks," handing out "fitness water" after participants exercised. P&G's CoverGirl conducted a makeover tour, showing how to apply lip gloss and other cosmetic products. Skintimate, a unit of S.C. Johnson & Son, sponsored an in-camp cheerleading competition to anoint a "Smooth Moves" champion. Companies are smart to target cheerleaders, says Marlene Cota, vice president of corporate alliances at Varsity Brands, because they are often the girls others look up to. "If you can hook teens when they're young, you have a customer …

As legislation moves through Congress that would give the Food and Drug Administration power to regulate the tobacco industry, R.J. Reynolds is mounting an advertising campaign that attacks what it views as the bill's vulnerability: a weak, overextended FDA. The print and television campaign includes a TV spot using a comic plate-spinning routine to illustrate RJR's point that the FDA is already unable to oversee its core mission of ensuring food and drug safety. So why, the ads ask, should Congress add more to its plate? The ads are running in Washington as well as in selected regional markets in …

Burger King CEO John Chidsey--the 45-year-old certified public accountant behind the fast-food chain's turnaround--says that success came when it figured out who its target customer was. Chidsey also says the CEO position is overrated, and that BK's success over the last five years is due to the quality of its team. Chidsey admits that he was a bit surprised to discover that BK's core customer base is almost split evenly between males and females, but takes issue with the assertion that its marketing in sports venues is more targeted at males. "If you rip the demographics apart, women are humongous …

Mars is readying its M&M's Premiums--in Triple Chocolate, Chocolate Almond, Mint, Mocha and Raspberry Almond flavors--for a June rollout. The product's 6-oz. bags will be priced at more than $3, and integrated ad support will begin by July or August, retail trade sources say. Trade literature contends the M&M's Premiums will not cannibalize the core M&M's brand because Mars is targeting what it dubs the "Savvy Socials"--women who shop premium categories, like to show their sense of style and entertain. Seasonal package extensions for Christmas, Easter and Mother's Day (2009) will be part of the mix. Meanwhile, Hershey's Bliss--individually …

Intel is launching five new Intel Atom processors that it says will drive a new category of computers known as Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) that can be focused on functions, such as navigation, communications, entertainment and productivity applications. The low-power microprocessors are expected to lead a renewed assault on the mobile phone market. Intel sees a $40 billion market being created by 2011 for MIDs, low-cost PCs, Internet-enabled consumer electronics and embedded devices, such as in-car systems. A second-generation Atom chip, expected in late 2009, will be aimed at smart phones.,br> "We will change the …