There is a direct relationship between the confidence people have in the economy and the attention they pay to Super Bowl commercials. When consumer confidence is weak, recall is 11% lower than average and 36% lower than in good times, according to a Gallup & Robinson study of 12 years' worth of surveys about recall and likeability of Super Bowl advertising. The economy isn't the only factor at play in when it comes to recall, warns Scott Purvis, president of the market-research firm. The content of an ad is important, as is the quality of the game. Even so, …

Veteran business journalist Barry Janoff launched a daily sports marketing Web site, www.NYSportsJournalism.com, last week that covers breaking news, deals and ad campaigns as well as commentary, Q&As and blogs. Janoff has already broken a few stories, including today's exclusive about members of the New Jersey Nets partnership marketing unit spending a day working as an employee with the Nets' marketing partners. The "A Day in the Life" program was set up to give staff members a better understanding of the day-to-day workings of companies like Budweiser, Aflac and Vonage. A staffer may, for example, ride a Bud delivery …

Here's something for that very special person in your life who still already has everything: A $75,000, 12-carat diamond-encrusted SpongeBob pendant from Simmons jewelry. Bit too pricey for your downsized budget right now? How about a Sponge Bob T-shirt, then, adorned with crystals and images of marine life and featuring SpongeBob next to a garbage can labeled "Save the Big Blue." The shirts, which celebrate the character's 10th anniversary, will cost $98 at retail later this year (but some of the proceeds go to the Natural Resources Defense Council and the National Wildlife Federation). Richard Tedesco reports it's …

Kraft has been telling us that macaroni and cheese sales are up for some time; it now looks like happy days are here again for the entire pasta segment. Sales of pasta products in the U.S. -- including frozen and refrigerated pasta, canned pasta, soup mixes and prepared dinners - rose 5% last year to $6.4 billion, according to American Italian Pasta Co., the nation's largest manufacturer of dry pasta. This is despite the fact that prices at retail rose steeply last year due primarily to commodity price hikes. "Pasta has been vindicated," …

A grand name in the news-synopsis business, Rob Roy Buckingham, died in Sarasota, Fla., Dec. 31. He was 88. In 1962, Buckingham became head of the New York Times News Service, Dennis Hevesi reports, which at the time sent roughly 20,000 words of synopses of Times articles to about 50 newspapers a day between the hours of 3 and 11 p.m. Earlier, Buckingham was a foreign correspondent for United Press.

Italian automaker Fiat S.p.A. is taking a 35% stake in Chrysler in return for sharing technology, manufacturing and management. Regulators including the U.S. Treasury, which oversees a $4-billion rescue loan of Chrysler, must approve the deal, Justin Hyde reports. Fiat will help sell Chrysler vehicles in foreign markets, where Chrysler lags its competitors. And Chrysler will assist Fiat in bringing its brands to the U.S. market. Fiat did not commit any cash to the deal, which is expected to be completed in April. The link will be similar to the venture between Japan's Nissan and France's Renault, which …

Akio Toyoda, 52, whose grandfather Kiichiro founded Toyota Motor Corp. in 1937, will succeed current President Katsuaki Watanabe in June, when his appointment is expected to be approved by the company's board. Toyoda has a reputation for challenging old-guard conservatism, Hans Greimel reports. Toyoda is deeply grounded in U.S. business practices, customs, and finances. After graduating in 1983 from Babson College in Massachusetts, a school that specializes in educating the children of business leaders, he worked at a New York investment bank. He has headed Toyota's China and Asian operations and served as a vp at its General Motors …

Larger flat-panel television manufacturers such as Sony and Samsung are starting to squeeze out smaller rivals as sales slow and profits decline, Daisuke Wakabayashi and Christopher Lawton report. Revenue in the sector is forecast to drop 18% this year. Discount brands like Vizio and Westinghouse took the market by storm several years ago with aggressively priced models. But the more established TV makers are matching their prices, although Laynie Newsome, Vizio co-founder and vice president of sales, says she's not feeling the heat; indeed, her company is gaining market share. "We have already been aggressive at passing on price reductions. …