Since returning as CEO of his Dell in January 2007, Michael Dell has made 10 acquisitions, cut more than 10,000 jobs, outsourced 40% of production and entered the smart-phone market in China, Connie Guglielmo reports. The goal is transition as quickly as possible from reliance on the market that made the company successful in the first place. "You're starting to see a real reshaping of the Dell portfolio and Dell business away from some things that were pretty important for us in our first 25 years," Dell says. "We're doing some new things that will be more important …

Most of the consumers who have purchased cars during General Motors' 60-day money-back guarantee program turned it down in favor of an alternative $500 cash incentive offer, Jamie La Reau reports. The program, which started Sept. 14, runs through November. "Out of hundreds of thousands, the people who've selected the 60-day guarantee were in the hundreds," says GM vice chairman and marketing chief Bob Lutz. "We have had one substantiated return of a vehicle." And that was from a guy who had a problem driving a stick shift and exchanged it for a car with an automatic transmission. …

Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal is investigating the Smart Choices labeling campaign begun over the summer by several big food companies, William Newman reports, to see to if it violates state statutes that bar misleading or false product claims. In a letter to Kellogg, General Mills and PepsiCo, he calls the program "overly simplistic, inaccurate and ultimately misleading." The investigation is the latest thunderclap in a gathering storm about the program, which Smart Choices executives say "was developed during an open and lengthy collaborative process that included some of the most experienced and accomplished professionals …

To protect against fake flakes, it plans to burn the Kellogg's signature on individual flakes and will then insert some of them into each box.

"Women's sports garners only 10% of the overall media coverage, and that is alarming," says Karen Durkin, CEO of the Women's Sports Foundation, "but there are more women athletes and women in sports marketing than ever who are making an impact." Barry Janoff talks with the former marketing executive of the LPGA and NHL, whose WSF -- founded 35 years ago by Billie Jean King -- is raising awareness, tackling issues and bringing physical fitness into the lives of more girls.

Ignore all the political pundits weighing in on the failure of Chicago to land the 2016 Olympics and pay attention to how the "Brand Rio" team succeeded, writes Allen Adamson, managing director of the New York office of Landor Associates. The branding execution was clever for all of the competing cites across the board, according to Adamson, but only Rio promised something simple and unique -- and it made its point loud and clear. "Aside from the above-mentioned table stakes, despite its sexy beaches and bathing suits, world-famous carnival and world-renowned HIV/AIDS program, the Rio brand team's differentiating …

Chicago's venerable football and hockey teams -- the Bears and the Blackhawks -- are partnering in a TV ad campaign, giving each the opportunity to bask in the other's glow, writes columnist Phil Rosenthal. Five commercials pairing Hawks and Bears players were shot in Lake Forest, Ill., yesterday. Quarterback Jay Cutler and Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews trade tips on passing accuracy; linebacker Lance Briggs and defenseman Brent Seabrook compare notes on big hits. The first spot will begin airing in a few weeks. The Hawks paid to produce the ads and will buy air time; the Bears are donating …

There's no better time than the present to change consumers' perception of the Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands, Eric Pearson, CMO for the Americas division of InterContinental Hotels Group, tells Elaine Wong in a far-reaching Q&A. Although the rebranding effort started before the economic downturn, it has been something of a blessing for Holiday as consumers trade down. People are "trading down from upscale, expensive stays to value stays, which is what you typically find in this segment called 'mid-scale,'" he says. "It's high value, a good, functional stay and an overall good product experience." …