Hot on the heels of Agency 3.0, that William Morris-backed "Hollywood Powerhouse" agency of the future thing, comes Brett Ratner Brands, a brand consultancy for anyone looking to infuse their product or service with a little of that "X-Men: The Last Stand" magic. Rattner, who directed the Rush Hour trilogy as well as the final installment of the X-Men franchise, launches his agency with Activision's mega-brand "Guitar Hero" already on board. Indeed, you may already have seen his work if you watched the "American Idol" finale: The spots in which the two Davids performed similar takeoffs of the …

McDonald's has been rolling out new "gourmet" coffee products in an attempt to steal market share from Starbucks. But so far, according to data from a handful of test markets, the fast food giant is off to a slow start. Specialty coffee sales in the company's test markets seem tepid-under 3% of sales per restaurant. Analysts take that as a bad sign, though McDonald's says otherwise. "It is absolutely to our expectations and actually a little greater,"" said Don Thomspon, president of McDonald's USA. Becoming a recognized purveyor of up-market coffee is an important driver for …

Barely more than a year after Nike shocked the agency world-and put the fear of God into longtime agency Wieden & Kennedy-by hiring creative hot shop Crispin Porter & Bogusky, the shoe company has taken the business out of Crispin's hands and given it back to Wieden. Both sides acknowledged the split, though neither offered an explanation. The pairing of one of the most iconic brands of all time with Crispin was seen by many as a harbinger of trouble for Wieden, which had long dominated the brand's agency roster, but the collaboration resulted in just a single …

There's a new item on McDonald's menus these days: the Southern Style Chicken Sandwich, a breaded chicken breast garnished with two pickles that comes in breakfast or lunch form-exactly like the signature sandwich at Chick-Fil-A. The Atlanta-based chain is not pleased, but it's also not planning to do anything about it. For now. That's because imitation (rip-offs) is rampant in the fast-food industry. The Taco Bell value menu gave rise to the Wendy's Super Value Menu, the McDonald's Dollar Menu and the Burger King Value Menu. And the Angus beef burger from Back Yard Burgers yielded similar items …

How do you get reluctant consumers to choose your service over that of a much more popular rival? Pay them! At least that's the approach Microsoft is taking now that its pursuit of Yahoo is in doubt and its share of the search market continues to dwindle. The program, called Live Search cashback, is part of a plan to come up with new approaches to areas of the search business where they see opportunities to make inroads against Google, the market leader. Consumers who eventually make purchases online after searching for some products through Microsoft will receive cash …

As rising fuel costs drag down airline profits, American Airlines is instituting a $15 fee for every bag a customer checks. The fee will be in effect for all tickets bought after June 15. The nation's largest airline is also cutting back service and capacity. While consumers are likely to react with outrage at the new fee, analysts expect other airlines to follow American's lead. United Airlines has already announced that it is "seriously studying" a new baggage fee. The new fees and reductions in capacity could lead to an airline industry that looks much different …

Few would consider delivery chains like Pizza Hut and Papa John's to be Web 2.0 businesses, but the two are now locked in a battle for superior responsiveness online. Easy-to-use Web sites are no longer enough, as both chains this week have rolled out widgets that allow consumers to place orders without even opening a Web browser. Papa John's downloadable myPapa applications, which can be placed anywhere from one's desktop to start pages in iGoogle or My Yahoo to MySpace and Facebook, allow consumers to click on the pizza box widget icon and place an order that will …

Luxury retailer Cartier has a new approach to marketing its high-end wares: Tupperware parties. It's probably not a comparison the legendary French company would appreciate, but the private-home exhibitions of baubles and treasures have become a necessity in an age when luxury has become mass-produced. These days, Cartier is better known for its heavily advertised "Love" bracelets and watches-as well as the accessories that please investors: sunglasses, handbags, pens, lighters. But while such products help satisfy stock holders, they don't do the band's image any favors with the uber-wealthy. Which is why Cartier is now putting …