In a Q&A with Barry Janoff, Adidas' soccer brand manager Molly Maixner explains why even Dwight Howard, Reggie Bush, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Snoop Dogg are part of marketing efforts to reach a broader audience than the soccer fanatic in a global category where product sales could top $11 billion in 2010. Dedicated soccer fans have their own campaign, called "Matchups" that allows fans to engage with the brand. "So you would hook up two athletes, " explains Maixner, "and utilize statistics that compare athletes as well as teams and histories. It is a great opportunity for us …

Target is offering two new super premium flavors of Ben & Jerry's ice cream -- Berry Voluntary and Brownie Chew Gooder -- that allow consumers to indulge their sweet teeth and do good at the same time. Berry Voluntary is raspberry cheesecake flavored ice cream laced with white chocolate chunks and raspberry swirls. Brownie Chew Gooder is vanilla caramel ice cream with fudge brownie pieces, finished with a caramel swirl. For a limited time, customers who register for a volunteer activity at www.VolunteerMatch.org/scoopitforward and forward the opportunity to five friends will receive a coupon for a …

Shell Oil seems to be the only oil company willing to aggressively promote itself in the wake of BP's oil spill in the Gulf. As BP's public relations efforts continue to flop and founder, Shell has launched print, TV, online and outdoor campaign, as well as two Web sites -- energygalaxy.com and shell.us/letsgo -- Michael Bush reports. The message is that the world will soon be on the road to sustainable mobility and that Shell is "ready to help tackle the challenges of the new energy future." It has been nearly a year in the making. …

The University of Michigan Medical School has voted to eliminate commercial financing for postgraduate medical education, meaning that it will no longer take money from drug and device makers to pay for coursework doctors need to renew their medical licenses, Natasha Singer and Duff Wilson report. The dean of the school, Dr. James O. Woolliscroft, says faculty members "wanted education to be free from bias, to be based on the best evidence and a balanced view of the topic under discussion." Dr. Michael Steinman, an associate professor of medicine at the San Francisco V.A. Medical Center, feels there …

Forever 21 has been expanding way beyond its roots as a Los Angeles boutique for young women, capped by tomorrow's opening of a four-story outlet in Times Square that has 90,000 square feet, 151 dressing rooms and 32 cash registers, Elizabeth Holmes reports. Korean immigrant Don Chang and his wife opened a 900-square-foot boutique in Los Angeles in 1984. They had 11 stores by the end of that decade, averaging about 5,000 square feet. This year, Forever 21 expects sales near $3 billion from roughly 480 stores, primarily in the U.S. but with a handful in Asia, up from …

The Cincinnati-based giant is ogling the $24 billion consumer packaged goods industry in that country, ramping up marketing for some brands such as Pampers and cutting prices on others, like Pantene, reports Anjali Cordeiro. India is the world's second-most-populous country, with a CPG growth of 12% a year, says Nielsen, and it represents growth potential and challenges for Procter & Gamble, which is confronted with a consumer-spending slump in the U.S. and Europe. "As P&G reaches its next billion consumers, a lot of them have to come from India," says Sumeet Vohra, P&G's India marketing director.

The deal with Vevo gives Schick Hydro new ways to market its razor, which launched in the spring. Energizer says the product is its highest-rated ever. It features a flip trimmer, advanced hydrating gel reservoir and skin guards. Since Schick Hydro's target demo is 18- to- 34-year-old males, partnering with Vevo made a lot of sense, Dan Kinton, Schick's senior brand manager, tells Elaine Wong. "The Next Wave," as the channel is called, went live on Vevo this week, and features original programming from Boston-based electronic pop band Passion Pit. In addition to Vevo, Kinton said …

Jennifer Alsever reports that by the fall, as many as 200 products -- including Nature's Path, Lundberg Family Farms and Earth Balance -- will hit store shelves carrying a new "Non-GMO Project" food label, certifying that an independent lab has tested and confirmed the product contains no bioengineered ingredients. Whole Foods will roll out an in-store educational campaign backed by Web site articles and newsletters -- touting non-GMO foods. "The public is becoming more aware," says Libba Letton, spokeswoman for the 297-store chain. "Consumers are wanting to be educated about it and wanting to make informed choices." Sales …

The fake Javelin release reported to the FBI by Business Wire comes just days after another hoax release involving cereal maker General Mills was published by PR Newswire. Both releases were retracted by the services before regular U.S. trading began in both stocks. Business Wire said it will no longer accept client releases submitted via e-mail. The elimination of e-mail was scheduled to be part of a planned security upgrade this August, Business Wire said, adding that the Javelin incident advanced the timetable for the change. Business Wire's statement said all press releases must now be submitted via …