When the fourth installment of the "Indiana Jones" franchise starring Harrison Ford comes to the big screen nearly two decades after the third, it will be accompanied by a frenzy of marketing pitches from an all-star lineup of brands. Mars' M&M's has launched limited-edition M&M's Mint Crisp Chocolate Candies that are white and green to reflect the "jungle feel" of the movie. Kraft's Lunchables Maxed Out will feature images of Indiana Jones on 15 million packages. Working with Expedia, Kraft also will sponsor a giveaway of 10 adventure trips to the Southwest and Mexico. Dr Pepper will offer prizes …

As sales for SUVs and pickup trucks have taken a steep turn for the worse, automakers are scrambling to tailor their marketing and incentive efforts region by region. In areas of the country where truck sales remain relatively strong-- like Texas--additional advertising and marketing money can be a better investment than in depressed markets. Demand in down markets is limited to people with a practical need to replace a worn-out vehicle and who may need help with financing. Advertising could have little effect. The truck markets that are hardest hit are those most affected by the burst housing …

Big oil's branding pushes are beginning to pay off. Marking a turnaround after a decade of decline, consumers now more often cite product performance as a reason to buy a given brand of gasoline, according to NPD Group analyst David Portalatin. Given record prices, it's "a little surprising," Portalatin says. Earlier, oil companies were distracted by a flurry of massive mergers, which created giants such as ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips. "Now they're advertising the quality of their differentiated products," Portalatin says, "and the ad messages are working." That's not to say the gasoline giants don't still have a way …

Macy's CEO Terry Lundgren is ditching a nationwide cookie-cutter approach instituted about a year and a half ago in favor of tailoring merchandise at the world's largest department-store chain by sales to local tastes. The localization strategy--called "My Macy's"--is a dramatic reversal for the retailer and Lundgren, who set out to end the slide of department-stores by creating a huge national chain that had more clout with vendors and stronger marketing, with fewer expensive local TV and print ads and more national ones. "What the consumer wants in the Galleria of St. Louis is different from what the consumer …

In a new campaign from the Marine Corps, a print ad shows a female striking a martial arts pose in front of a crowd of men who are looking to her as their leader. The tag line: "There are no female marines. Only marines." The campaign is a big departure for the Marines, which until last year advertised to women only fitfully. Jay Cronin, management director of the Marine Corps' agency, JWT, says that for the first time everyone involved took the time to "understand the psychographics"--that is, figuring out which women might actually want to join the military, and …

Sony BMG Music Entertainment says that legendary record producer and hit maker Clive Davis is giving up his roles as head of the BMG division and control of its RCA Label Group for a new creative post. Barry Weiss, the chief of the company's Zomba Label Group, will become chairman and CEO of the BMG Label Group, overseeing an array of artists such as Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys and OutKast. The shakeup reflects new realities. The pop hits that Davis is known for delivering typically require the kind of expensive videos and marketing campaigns that labels are reluctant to finance …

Wal-Mart is immediately halting sales of baby bottles, sippy cups, pacifiers, food containers and water bottles made with bisphenol A in its Canadian stores, and will stop selling baby bottles made with the controversial chemical in its U.S. stores early next year. Spurred by customer demand, other retailers are also stocking products made without the chemical. Target began testing glass baby bottles in its stores in January and offering them online in February. Babies R Us says its sales of glass bottles have increased fivefold since last spring. Wal-Mart's moves follow Monday's release of a draft report from …

Citing annual growth rates of as much as 8% for high-end chocolate products--twice the rate of the general chocolate market-- Nestlé SA says it wants to lift its share of sales from dark and other luxury sweets. "Even countries which have no dark-chocolate tradition are successfully introducing such products," says Nestlé's head of chocolate operations, Petraea Heynike. Premium chocolate products are typically more resilient when consumer spending in general slumps, analysts say. Some analysts expect Nestlé to focus on organic growth and perhaps start a global premium chocolate brand. Others say the company may be looking for a purchase. …