Procter & Gamble reportedly has spoken to ad agencies about creating a major campaign promoting a sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympic Games, John Reynolds reports. The deal with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would not be brand-specific, sources say. The IOC wants to increase the number of its global sponsors from nine to 12 and is expected to announce new partners soon. P&G, which already is a sponsor of the U.S. team at London 2012, declined to comment on the report.

In five years, Sears will be unrecognizable to what it was three decades ago "to some people," chairman and majority stockholder Edward Lampert said at the company's annual meeting yesterday. Those people are presumably those who have not been paying attention to recent moves such as an expanded push online, where it offers many items not available in its stores, as well as its plans to sell its exclusive brands outside of its stores. "When I think of the great brands of the world, Apple and Nike both operate stores and sell to third parties," Lampert said. "Their focus …

Anheuser-Busch's Bud Light will replace MillerCoors' Coors Light as the "official and exclusive beer sponsor" of the National Football League for at least six years following the end of the upcoming season, Barry Janoff reports. Reports put the value of the deal at about $7 billion. Anheuser-Busch was the league's official beer from 1988 to 2001, Janoff points out, including several seasons when it co-held the position with Miller, which merged with Coors in 2007. "The NFL is the biggest, most-watched sport in North America, and we are proud for Bud Light, the world's best-selling beer, to be …

Ford started offering special training to dealerships about how to sell the new subcompact Fiesta to its target millennial market a full nine months before the car will be available this summer, Brent Snavely reports. Web-based training includes a series of 16 special videos that explain how to compare the Fiesta to its main competitors -- the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit and Nissan Versa. In addition, 573 dealers in large metropolitan areas are getting an on-site program. "For the young buyer, the car is something very personal," says Paul Anderson, Ford's small-car marketing manager. "It is something that …

Consumer advocates and online marketers have concerns about the draft of a bill that is intended to protect digital privacy, Edmund Lee reports. The proposed bill, crafted by Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., requires Web publishers to alert users about how their information is being collected, what it is being used for, who else it is being sent to and how long it is kept. They must also offer a clear way for consumers to opt-out. "Some of the definitions around what is considered personally identifiable information are overly broad," according to Mike Zaneis, vp of public …