In stark contrast to the first Earth Day 40 years ago, the event has turned into a premier marketing platform for hawking everything from an umbrella that purportedly recycles rainwater to a F. A. O. Schwarz toy called Peat the Penguin that is made from soy fibers. "This ridiculous perverted marketing has cheapened the concept of what is really green," says Denis Hayes, who was national coordinator of the first Earth Day. "It is tragic." But other organizations, such as Greenpeace and Keep America Beautiful, are seamlessly partnering with businesses to …

PepsiCo, meanwhile, is launching an initiative to encourage people to recycle bottles and cans by placing thousands of kiosks in heavily trod areas such as concert venues, grocery stores and busy city streets, Valerie Bauerlein reports. PepsiCo is partnering with Waste Management on the "Dream Machine" kiosk, which Bauerlein describes as sort of "a vending machine in reverse." It has a video screen that plays videos like those at gas pumps. But it also dispenses rewards to registered users. "There's got to be something in it for people, both through material rewards and emotional rewards," says Jeremy Cage, …

For all the articles about how the iPad might save the newspaper and magazine industries, little has been written about its other potential commercial applications. Natalie Zmuda surveys retail experts and concludes that the device could have a "major impact" on the retail industry. E-commerce and interactive catalogs are no brainers, but future uses could also include using the iPad as a virtual sales assistant. A salesman might, for example, customize an automobile in the lot. Transactions could be completed on the spot, as they are now with iPods at Apple stores, although one would think that auto dealerships …

Cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong is the most influential athlete in America, according E-Poll Market Research, which measures consumers' opinions about more than 5,000 celebrities on 46 attributes including influence, awareness and likability. More than half of all Americans know who Armstrong is, with nearly 33% considering him to be "influential" and 46% saying they "like him a lot," Tom Van Riper reports. Talent is only one element in the calculus of what makes an athlete "influential." Endorsements, media attention, and off-the-field image also play big roles. In short, says E-Poll CEO Gerry Philpott, "it means that people …

Target will stop issuing Visa Target cards next week and instead will offer cards that can be used only in its own stores, Stacey Vanek-Smith reports. The company says that customers who use store-brand credit cards spend more money than customers who have Visas they can use anywhere. A pitch that offers 15% in savings to people who sign up for the card helps to seal the deal. "It's part of a bigger strategy," Nick Bourke, who runs the Safe Credit Cards Project for the Pew Health Group, tells Vanek-Smith. "It's really about driving people to come into your …

In what could be the most impactful marketing deal in recent U.S. sports history, the Seattle Storm has sold ad space to the $58 billion-dollar corporation in the most prominent location on the team's uniform, opening the door for more such alliances.

Americans' new penchant for penny-pinching is forcing high-end retailers such as Whole Foods and Starbucks to change the way that they do business, Bruce Horovitz reports. Whole Foods now touts weekly sales, for example. And Starbucks, home to $4 specialty brews, now also offers a basic cup of joe for $1.50. But they're not alone in appealing to our parsimonious leanings. Renewals at warehouse club Costco are booming, Dannon is offering monthly sales on best-sellers, Denny's has rolled out a nationwide value menu and Morton's steakhouse offers three mini-burgers at its bar for $5. NPD Group …

On the other hand (see above item), Jenn Abelson finds that Staples shoppers are trading up, at least in the writing instrument category. Rollerball pens are again in vogue after falling behind stick pens, "as penny-pinching gives way to, if not extravagance, at least a return to prerecession tastes," she writes. Lower sales and tough cost-cutting at Staples preceded the recession, Abelson writes, but now deliveries are being upgraded, and customers are splurging more on discretionary items. Computer sales increased by double digits in the fourth quarter, and the company's EasyTech business, which offers technology services, doubled compared …

Whether consumers are pinching pennies or not, advertisers want them to loosen up a bit, Ken Bruno reports, with commercials that use humor, colorful images and upbeat language. BMW of North America, for example, has a new "Story of Joy" campaign with print ads featuring happy-looking adults, kids and dogs with headlines that lead off with "Joy is ..." Then there's Volkswagen's "Punch Dub," which invites the first person to spot a VW to poke a companion on the arm. Procter & Gamble's Old Spice ads feature Isaiah Mustafa as "the man your man could smell like" …