A group of environmentalists this week released a report showing that their efforts are doing no good: the death of coral reefs is accelerating, with 75% of coral reefs in danger of further decay. Celebrity spokespeople and smart PR can raise awareness, but coral reefs don't have big names backing their survival. And they should. The report, Reefs at Risk Revisited, from D.C.-based World Resources Institute, the UN, Conservation International, and other groups says overfishing, coastal development, and pollution--are the most direct and immediate threats to coral reefs. Columnist Jenara Nerenberg suggests the report …

It has been less than a year since iPad went on sale, and it has bested Apple's laptop business, selling 15 million units in the past year -- 7.33 million of them during this quarter. The interactive marketing business is trying to classify just what kind of platform iPad represents and whether its advertising will work. Since there's nothing to compare iAd to, researchers have taken to reaching for "mobile" as a catchall. Publisher Condé Nast says that's not right, even though iAd is a mobile platform. The first iPad iAd launched in December.

Barnes & Noble Inc. has tapped Boston agency Mullen as its creative and media agency of record. The agency will lead a $40 million campaign partly to grab more of the e-reader market, with much of the rebranding campaign focused on the Nook e-reader device. The Nook competes with devices such as the popular Kindle from online retailer Amazon.com.

Ford said it will recall 150,000 F-150 pickup trucks to fix air bags that could inflate without warning. The recall affects 2005 and 2006 model year trucks. The recall is much smaller than what the government had asked for: 1.3 million F-150's built encompassing the 2004 to 2006 model years.

TripAdvisor.com, a travel website, has hired Barbara Messing as its CMO. Messing will lead global marketing, CRM, SEM, traffic acquisition, mobile partnerships, brand development and PR. Messing was previously VP and general manager of Hotwire's Travel Ticker.

TD Ameritrade Holding will be the first USOC partner in the online broker category. As part of the deal, TD Ameritrade will sponsor the U.S. Olympic team for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, which includes a presence on NBC broadcasts of the Games. The USOC says the deal is the first marketing and media collaboration between NBC Olympics and the USOC.

Auto dealers see gasoline prices heading up because of the political maelstrom in the Middle East, and are saying they will adjust their vehicle mix to weather that storm when it hits again: they say they will stock more small cars and fuel-efficient crossovers. Currently, the average national gas price is in the neighborhood of $3.20, which is 54 cents above what it was last year. But in trading yesterday, West Texas Intermediate was within spitting distance of $100 a barrel. "We'll change the mix of products that we offer," said one dealer, John Pitre, the general manager …

A complex partnership of Phillips-Van Heusen Corp's Calvin Klein, Coty Prestige's Calvin Klein Fragrances, and Warnaco's Calvin Klein Underwear is bowing a global push for CK One. The effort bows March 1 online and in print, mobile and out-of-home. The campaign will be the largest digital initiative in the company's history. The global hub will be www.ckone.com, and interactive and digital consumer-content will be central to the push, with the cast of the campaign -- including singers, models, songwriters, and artists -- posing questions that consumers can answer. Consumers will also be encouraged to participate in the genesis …

With stories circulating about kids toting up thousands of dollars in bills for apps they download from iTunes to mobile devices, the Federal Trade Commish is looking into how Apple markets to kids to promote games for products like iPhone and iPad that can be downloaded from iTunes. "Companies shouldn't be able to use Smurfs and snowflakes and zoos as online ATMs pulling money from the pockets of unsuspecting parents," said U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) in a letter to the FTC.

StrawberryFrog's Scott Goodson argues that thinking about brand identity less in terms of what it embraces and more in terms of what it rebels against may create fresh ideas. He says his agency's work on a smart car headed toward the tried and true -- and mundane -- set of platitudes about all the wonderful things a smart car represents. But, he says, "By defining instead what smart is against -- over-consumption, excess, thoughtless behavior -- we began to craft a statement with more of an edge."