In a first-ever deal, the U.S. Army is officially licensing the marks and insignias of the First Infantry Division to Sears, Roebuck & Co., which is launching the All American Army Brand's First Infantry Division clothing collection. Licensing fees will be used to support military programs for troops and their families. The collection is slated to roll out nationwide in October. It will be prominently featured during the retailer's Fall Forward fashion exhibit at next week's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, and will be included in future marketing campaigns, even those slated for the holiday season. The collection …

Apple has issued an invitation to an event next Tuesday that shows a silhouette of a dancing man with an iPod and bears the title "Let's Rock." Apple typically stages an event in late September or early October to introduce new iPods and other consumer products in time for the holiday shopping season. Apple would not comment. Of its many offerings, Apple's iPod line is the most in need of a refresh. Growth in the business has slowed in recent years as the digital music-player category it dominates has matured. Growth in two other major Apple businesses -- the …

A campaign breaking today for the Ford Flex across an ever-growing number of media platforms -- TV, print, iPhone, Xbox, Dish Network and Yahoo, to name a few -- will be far more youthful and edgy than marketing for family vehicles of the past. The Flex, which was developed as a family-hauler alternative to a minivan, will be showcased at night, when parents go out and do fun things, says Toby Barlow, executive creative director and co-president of JTW Team Detroit, Ford's ad agency. "We decided to focus on the emotion of driving it," he says. Indeed, Ford has …

Don LaFontaine, who was known as "The Trailer King" for his work as a voiceover artist on movie trailers, has died at 68 from complications after treatment for an unspecified illness in Los Angeles. LaFontaine also did voiceover work on countless radio and network television promotional spots and commercials and was also known as "Thunder Throat," and "The Voice of God." With a rich baritone that was once likened to the sound of someone speaking from the bottom of a well, LaFontaine dramatically narrated the movie trailers for classic films such as "2001: A Space Odyssey" ("A shrieking monolith …

Starbucks this morning is serving up five breakfast options -- whittled down from 200 potential candidates -- in its strategy to present a healthy menu, The choices are: hot oatmeal; a protein plate with a cage-free hardboiled egg and a whole-wheat bagel; apple bran muffins; a chewy fruit and nut bar; and a multigrain roll with either almond butter or strawberry preserves. None of the foods has artificial colors or flavors or sweeteners, or high fructose corn syrup. For sweet-toothed customers, Starbucks will continue to offer Top Pot Doughnuts. "We are a coffeehouse, and there will always be a …

Pfizer's new television ad for Lipitor features heart-attack survivor John Erlendson, a 58-year-old talent agent in California who learned of the campaign when news of Pfizer's search for a testimonial subject crossed his desk. The spot, which breaks today, follows a half-year advertising hiatus for the anti-cholesterol drug following claims of misleading ads featuring Robert Jarvik, the inventor of an artificial heart. This time around, Pfizer felt that using an average guy, someone with a story similar to that of many other baby boomers, struck the right chord. "When we did testing with consumers, what we found out was John …