Leslie Wexner's claim to fame and fortune is that he got American women out of the "pragmatic" pack-of-three panties manufactured by the likes of Fruit of the Loom and into lacy thongs and padded push-up bras. Through a visual barrage of sexy fashion shows, TV ads and catalogs -- as well as a presence in nearly every shopping mall in America -- he "took the secret out of Victoria's Secret," says Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group. Wexner, who was born to a retailing family (his parents named their chain, Leslie's, after him), is actually …

Pitcher Stephen Strasburg struck out 14 players, won the game in his Major League debut and sold a lot of merchandise for the Washington Nationals. Now he awaits national marketing deals that could hit $10M sooner rather than later, Barry Janoff reports.

McDonald's is offering $3 refunds to customers who return "Shrek" drinking glasses that are tainted with cadmium, Matthew Boyle reports. They can fill out a refund slip and return the glassware to any McDonald's restaurant in the U.S. The glasses sold for $1.99 with a food purchase and $2.49 without. "Rather than just give back the cost of the cup they are also acknowledging the lost time and inconvenience, and offering an incentive to come back," says Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Sara Senatore. The glasses, manufactured in the U.S. by ARC International, came in four designs …

Bruce Horovitz reveals that restaurant chains -- P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Burger King, Jamba Juice are three of the latest -- are increasingly licensing their brand names for products found in the grocery aisles. "It's a search for new revenue streams," Nation's Restaurant News executive editor Robin Lee Allen tells Horovitz. "It's also a way to keep the brand top of mind." Then, too, it softens up consumers in markets the chain is entering, points out consultant Linda Lipsky. P.F. Chang's, which made its rep on the tastiness of its offerings, is utilizing a new freezing …

Merc News columnist Chris O'Brien takes a look at a column that Zappos co-founder Tony Hsieh recently wrote for Inc. about why he sold the online shoe retailer -- which was built on the principle of putting employees and customers first -- to Amazon. His premise was that "better service would translate into lots of repeat customers, which would mean low marketing expenses, long-term profits and fast growth." But Hsieh reveals in the Inc. piece that some members of his board, led by venture capitalists from Sequoia, didn't quite buy into the philosophy with the …

J. David Goodman reports that a new viral binge drinking game featuring Smirnoff Ice poses a dilemma for the marketer. On the one hand, sales and brand recognition are improving among young men. On the other, the game -- called "icing" -- really disses the taste of the sweet malt beverage that is more popular with young women and has spawned suspicion that the brand, or parent company Diageo, itself might be behind the phenomena. That would raise questions about "good taste and common sense," as one marketing expert put it. Diageo denies that it has …

Chrysler will launch a national advertising campaign for the redesigned Jeep Grand Cherokee later this month, Jeff Bennett reports, in the vanguard of an effort to reconnect with American consumers following the company's reorganization last year. Dealers have been pushing management to light a fire under its marketing efforts but CEO Sergio Marchionne has resisted until the company had new vehicles to crow about. A campaign that announces only that Chrysler is back "is unnecessary," Marchionne tells Bennett. "You saw from the [U.S. auto sales] numbers that people are buying cars. They know we are back." A …