Sony is hoping that ads that break this weekend for its PlayStation 3 will have the same serial impact that the Mac vs. PC ads starring frumpy John Hodgman and hip Justin Long do, Beth Snyder Bulik reports. In the campaign, from Deutsch, Los Angeles, actor Jerry Lambert plays one Kevin Butler, Sony's purported Director of Rumor Confirmation who gives wisecracking responses to the questions of fictitious consumers. Butler points out all the things the console, whose price just dropped to $299, is capable of -- from Blu-ray-movie playing to wireless connectivity. The tagline is, "It only does everything." …

Nivea reported yesterday that its profit dropped 14% in the first half but CEO Jean-Paul Agon tells Christina Passariello that the company is pursuing "affordable innovation" to beat back rivals such as the less-expensive Nivea. It appears that core consumers aren't lured as much as they once were by the purported superiority of ingredients such as white clay from the Amazon and are turning to private-label face creams instead. L'Oréal is laying people off, closing factories and slashing travel expenses to deal with the downturn, Agon says, but at the same time it's beefing up its media and promotion budgets …

Nick Ferdo was among more than 100 people waiting in line for a week, through clear skies and mostly rain, to buy a pair of Blue Lobster Nike SB Dunk Low sneakers. They are blue with fluorescent yellow laces and cost $250. But just 300 pairs were made for a boutique shoe store in Boston and they attracted eager buyers from as far away from Cleveland. Curt Nickisch reports that instead of making the same-old costly national ad buys, sneaker companies are trying hyper-local marketing events to connect with consumers where they shop and enlist them in spreading the …

A new study finds that 59% of green consumers say economic considerations are their top concern in making purchases; only 8% cite the environment, Alex Palmer reports. The Shelton Group issued the report, pulling from Earthsense data about 1,000 U.S. consumers who buy green products at least occasionally. "It's the guy who buys one compact fluorescent light bulb a year all the way out to the girl in her Birkenstocks living in a yurt in Idaho," says Suzanne Shelton, Shelton Group president and CEO. Most respondents (54%) say they try to balance energy conservation and their personal comfort, while …

Chrysler needs to change the perception that it is behind in the race to produce affordable small or midsize hybrid electric vehicles, Greg Gardner writes. It's not clear whether new CEO Sergio Marchionne is committed to an earlier plan to get the battery/gas hydrid ENVI into showrooms by the end of 2010, or where he stands on three other electric vehicles slated to debut by 2013. "In terms of basic technology, they're not really lagging that much," says Mike Millikin, editor of Green Car Congress. "In terms of actually getting cars in showrooms, they are behind." …

The Cash for Clunkers program resulted in a total of 690,114 new car sales, according to the vouchers dealers applied for by the Transportation Department's Tuesday deadline, Chris Woodyard reports. Taxpayers will shell out nearly $2.9 billion. Toyota had the largest share (19.4%), followed by General Motors (17.6%) and Ford (14.4%). Top five cars purchased were: Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Toyota Camry, Ford Focus and Hyundai Elantra. The top five cars traded in were: Ford Explorer 4WD, Ford F-150 pickup, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ford Explorer 2WD and Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan2. A CNW Marketing Research …

A $300 million federal program aiming to create a buying-frenzy for energy-efficient appliances the way that the "Cash for Clunkers" program did for cars isn't leading manufacturers to pump out more units just yet. Instead, struggling appliance makers such as General Electric, Electrolux and Whirlpool are taking a wait-and-see attitude to determine which models qualify in each state, and what excites consumers' fancy. "We're going to adjust our production as we see the changes in consumer demand emerge," says Marty O'Gorman, CFO of Electrolux Major Appliances North America, which is developing an advertising campaign around the program. Some of …