GM is cutting back its motorsports advertising, putting in jeopardy its sponsorships of teams, tracks and all the ancillary marketing that goes with racing. Expected among the biggest losers is Nascar-related spending of $120 million to $140 million a year. Nascar last year began to transition to a so-called Car of Tomorrow in which all race cars would have the same generic body, differentiated with stickers depicting headlights, taillights and grille, as well as the car number and source of the engine. The move has taken some of the pizzazz out of racing, says Peter De Lorenzo, editor of AutoExtremist.com …

China -- already the world's second-largest advertising market after the U.S. -- is a dream for consumer product companies. As a result, a record 63 companies have become sponsors or partners of the Beijing Olympics. Olympic-related advertising in China could reach $4 billion to $6 billion this year, says CSM, a Beijing firm. When the games were held in Los Angeles (1984) and Atlanta (1996), the host market was mature. That's not the case this time. "For most international brands here, China is the growth market for the next 10 years," says Jonathan Chajet, strategic director at Interbrand, which …

A few weeks ago, Virgin Mobile invited people over 18 to send videos of themselves undressing. For each video posted in the "Strip2Clothe" promotion, it agreed to donate a new piece of clothing to nonprofit groups that help homeless youth. The campaign quickly drew criticism from people worried that it would attract underage strippers, and some nonprofits that work with homeless teens said they weren't comfortable with the stunt. In response to the outcry, Virgin Mobile is giving the campaign a facelift, renaming it "Blank2Clothe." Instead of taking their clothes off, viewers are asked to do anything they want …

A number of blue-chip marketers are making moves to slash marketing spending, or at least apply tougher financial discipline. Managers at analytics firms say the companies also have been actively testing models to project how successfully they can raise prices without losing out to private labels -- and the impact of shifting funds from media advertising to trade promotion and other areas of shopper marketing. Among them are five major companies that together contribute more than $10 billion to the U.S. ad economy: General Motors, Procter & Gamble, Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola and Nissan. AT&T -- the country's No. 2 …

Wal-Mart's presence at the Fashion on the Square runway show in San Francisco's posh downtown Union Square Saturday was a nod to the importance of youth trends when it comes to selling apparel. It stayed relatively under the radar at the fashion show, however, which included looks by designers including Chris March, who appeared on last season's TV reality show "Project Runway." Wal-Mart presented a colorful, casual line of back-to-school looks for kids and teens. A Wal-Mart spokeswoman attending the show says the clothing on display shows "good value and good style for the kids for back to school." …

New CEO Muhtar Kent says that as Coca-Cola undergoes an aggressive review of spending, it will look to reduce "nonconsumer-facing" programs through increased use of global campaigns. It will also leverage best practices for creative and overall execution, as well as optimize its use of agencies. Kent admits the company is facing challenges around the globe, as volume increased just 3% in the second quarter. Coca-Cola recently completed a global marketing research agreement that will replace a number of local agreements. "Our objective is to reinvest marketing efficiencies ... that we realize into efficient brand-building activities to drive the …

Levi Strauss is launching its first global marketing campaign for its button-fly 501 jeans in which print and television ads contain the same theme, content and slogan -- "Live Unbuttoned" -- the world over. In some cases, the actors will change to resemble the populace in the country where the ad is being presented. The campaign shows characters letting go of inhibitions and being carefree. One TV ad debuting in early August shows a young man and woman exchanging flirtatious glances as they unbutton their 501s. Ultimately, they both pull down their jeans and, holding hands, leap off a pier …