Wall Street Journal
Eddie Bauer is making a major foray back to its roots by introducing its first line of high-performance mountaineering wear and gear in more than a decade. Called First Ascent, it will go on sale online in April and will be available in 180 new Eddie Bauer "stores within stores" later this year, Jennifer Saranow reports. CEO Neil Fiske hopes First Ascent will enable Eddie Bauer to compete directly with brands like VF 's North Face, Columbia Sportswear and Patagonia. "There is still room in that market, while the traditional apparel market is overcrowded and saturated," he says. A …
Los Angeles Times
A TV spot for an environmental coalition that's trying to undermine the concept of "clean" coal made its debut last night. Directed by Academy Award-winners Joel and Ethan Coen, it follows a grinning pitchman bearing a can of "clean coal" air freshener that sends a suburban family into coughing spasms when they spray a cloud of it inside their home, Maria Dickerson reports. Tag line: "In reality, there's no such thing as clean coal." The coal industry has formed a trade group known as the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, spending $18 million so far on spots touting …
USA Today
Companies have long rewarded top performers with working vacations and other trips to recognize their hard work and thank spouses who put up with their long hours. But incentive trips -- and, increasingly, even once-routine meetings and conferences -- are in trouble thanks to the downward-spiraling economy and public backlash against what is being perceived as lavish spending. Bailout recipients AIG, Wells Fargo, Chrysler and General Motors have scrapped most of their 2009 incentive trips, and the behavior is increasingly influencing healthy companies. They're reacting to media coverage of extravagant incentive trips and other gatherings, and outrage expressed by …
Austin American-Statesman
In announcing that fourth-quarter sales fell 16%, Dell says it is intensifying its focus on cutting costs to remain competitive with rivals, mostly by reshaping its supply chain and manufacturing network. Additional jobs will be cut, too. But Dell can't rely on slashing expenses forever, says John Spooner, an analyst at Technology Business Research. The recession has obscured how much it has improved its competitive position against H-P and other rivals, he says, and as technology spending recovers, the success of the company's turnaround plans will be measured more by revenue increases than expense reductions. For now, Spooner …
Brandweek
Tapping into consumer demand for both whole grain and convenient meal preparation, Mars is launching Uncle Ben's Boil-in-Bag Whole Grain Brown Rice, Elaine Wong reports. It is the first whole grain version for Uncle Ben's, which has been selling boil-in-bag rice products since the 1980s. Advertising plays up the fact that each serving contains 48 grams of whole grain, the daily amount recommended by current U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year extended the whole grain health claim to include brown rice. "While brown rice has always been a whole grain, this …
Cincinnati Enquirer
Procter & Gamble will host a meeting March 11 between senior executives from the emerging world of online social media and marketing executives from the Cincinnati-based company. Executives from advertising and branding agencies, as well as technology companies such as Google, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter have been invited.
MSNBC/Access Hollywood
The singer and her husband, Marc Anthony, claim a photo of them was used to help sell the Silver Cross Balmoral Pram Carriage.
Progressive Grocer
Chicago Tribune
Ad Age
A new campaign for a tired Old Navy centers on a group of "SuperModelquins" -- a dozen somewhat-creepy-looking, multi-ethnic mannequins with giant grins -- including a young family, a divorced mom and a few singles, Natalie Zmuda reports. It breaks tonight. The retailer hasn't posted positive sales results at stores open at least a year since March 2007. Last spring, Old Navy tried a high-fashion experiment that was quickly scrapped. Since then, it has retooled its target customer -- now 25- to 35-year-old females, predominantly moms -- and made management changes, including promoting Tom Wyatt to president. Wyatt says …