NBA All-Star Dwight Howard has no tattoos on his body, but he now has a marketing alliance with the clothing line inspired by tattoo artist Don Ed Hardy.

Some big brands are loving the idea of location-based check-ins and gaming apps such as Foursquare -- which has signed deals with companies including PepsiCo, HBO, Zagat and Bravo -- as a way to extend their brand to wherever their consumers happen to be in real life, observes blogger Dave Pell. But the angel investor, founder of Addictomatic and author of the "Tweetage Wasteland: Confessions of an Internet Superhero" blog ain't buying it. "Call me a geo-luddite, but I'm still checking out of this activity until someone convinces me that I need to know …

Thomas P. Lyon, director and the Dow Chemical Professor of Sustainable Science, Technology and Commerce at the Erb Institute of the University of Michigan, says that either the government or a disinterested third party such as Consumer Reports or Underwriters Laboratory needs to rate the plethora of ego-green labels out there that are just confusing consumers. "Clear standards should be agreed [upon] between NGO and industry players, and those standards should be represented by a few labels whose meaning is made clear through education programs initiated by NGOs and the EPA or other public agencies," he writes.

Sears has signed a trademark license agreement with Schumacher Electric that will allow DieHard brand power accessories -- such as chargers, jump starters and power inverters -- to be sold in stores other than Sears in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Mexico. It is the first time a Sears brand will be sold outside the retail chain, Julie Wernau reports, but DieHard batteries themselves will still be sold exclusively in Sears and Kmart stores. Erik Rosenstrauch, gm for the DieHard brand, says Sears hopes to expand the brand beyond male do-it-yourselfers with an interest in vehicle maintenance. A Sears …

General Motors last fall asked its dealers to spruce up their stores and get rid of outdated signs and dingy lighting. So far, only about 20% have complied. Driving home the message that appearances count will be one of the core themes at the annual National Automobile Dealers Association convention in Orlando this weekend, reports Tim Higgins. "We have a lot of work to do," Steve Hill, gm of GM's retail sales support, tells Higgins while flashing some photos of rundown dealerships. "Would you buy an Apple at a store that looked like that? Probably not," he says. GM …

McDonald's, which has been the official restaurant of the Olympics for more than 33 years, yesterday trotted out athletes Katarina Witt, Shawn Johnson, Picabo Street and Cassie Campbell in a media event that featured its new line of smoothies and drove home its recurring theme of food quality, Emily York reports. The athletes were captains of teams of children from around the world who had won a contest. Their objective yesterday was to create a delicious smoothie in 90 seconds; a strawberry pineapple concoction from Team Johnson took the gold. The fast-food …

Before we go any further, let's get to the question most of you are dying to know the answer to. When Procter & Gamble launches the Gillette Fusion ProGlide in June -- the first significant upgrade to the line since its birth four years ago -- it will not contain a single blade more than the five that are currently installed in the cartridge. "It's not about blade count," Matthew Wohl, P&G's gm of male new products and shave care, tells Ellen Byron. Instead, there will be technological advances such as blade edges "so fine they can only be …

Gayle Troberman, a 13-year veteran of Microsoft and most recently the gm of advertising and customer engagement at the company, has been named chief creative officer. The position, which is common at ad agencies, is still relatively rare at marketers, Abbey Klaassen writes, although it is popping up in industries such as video-games and movie studios. Microsoft has started to take more risks with its advertising, though it has never been known for its creative prowess. Troberman will work among Microsoft's campaign teams and agencies responsible for creative and look at new marketing approaches and emerging marketing platforms. …