To avoid a brain worm, don't watch HP's "Happy Baby" ad, whose theme song, "Brand New Key" by folk singer Melanie Safka, easily gets stuck in your head. That's just one complaint about the ad, part of a larger campaign created by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners that includes TV, online, mobile, in-store, PR and social elements. Some balk at the perceived danger of putting a baby in a walker near a cliff. Yet, reviewers and consumers overall like it, and the ad certainly has gained the desired attention. Herein, HP's marketing VP discusses the motivation.

Delta, which has been the PGA Tour's official airline for about a quarter century, has been grounded. But business is taking off for United Continental, which the tour is replacing as its official carrier beginning next year. Multi-media marketing support will include TV, print and other traditional venues, plus a special focus on Internet and such social media sites as Facebook and Twitter. In addition, the new partnership will provide both airlines' frequent flier members the opportunity to obtain special PGA Tour-related benefits, including unique PGA Tour player experiences; perks at PGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour tournaments; …

Via video on Thursday, Bill Simon, president/CEO of Walmart's U.S. division, told representatives of most of the retailer's largest suppliers, "We're open for business and, as I said, bring it." Simon was speaking candidly about past decisions to trim the number of products the company stocked, a move it blames for six consecutive quarters of declining same-store sales. To the 500 members of the Northwest Arkansas Retail Link Users Group, Simon said, "We want to sell your product."

More than half of smartphone users say they will use the devices while holiday shopping, leaving retailers rushing to accommodate them by offering applications and mobile websites. But watch out, marketers. The same percentage also says they won't return to a site if they've had a bad experience. So says a study by Gomez, a unit of Compuware. Expectations are high. Nearly 6 out of 10 people think mobile sites should run as smoothly or better than sites they go to via computer. Gomez reports that consumers ranked as "tolerable" the mobile sites of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend's …

Having sold just 500 of the egg-shaped Tata Nano in November -- compared to the 9,000 delivered in July -- the company on Thursday announced it would extend the car's warranty (including those already sold) to four years, from 18 months. As Tata has been bedeviled with production delays and fires in some Nanos, rivals like the Maruti Suzuki Alto have gained an edge. The Alto, retailing at $6,200 in India, is now the best-selling car there. The Nano's celebrated 2009 rollout had prompted other big automakers to propose ultracheap people's cars of their own. But Nano's stall-out could …

"It's such a cool gift, and ties in with our tagline of being 'the life-improvement store,'" said one employee -- Ikea calls them "co-workers." And, of course, assembly is required.

Just last year, it was No. 2 and now it's No. 8 in federal data covering the 12 months ended in October. It's a big blow for the carrier with the best cumulative rating since the U.S. began tracking 23 years ago. United Continental, Delta, American, JetBlue and AirTran, which Southwest is acquiring, are among carriers that joined US Airways and Alaska in improving on-time arrival rates over the same period.