When did insurance advertising get interesting? When the started battling over discounts leading to campaign's like Allstate's Mayhem effort in response to Progressive's sales clerk character. Two years ago Allstate's market was at 10.5%, only slightly ahead of Geico (8.21%) and Progressive (7.46%), per the Insurance Information Institute. The solution was an entertaining persona. Thus Mayhem, played by actor Dean Winters, a character that embodies all that can go wrong with your car. Playing a satellite dish, he falls from the roof, crushing a sedan. As a malfunctioning GPS, he sends a driver swerving, crashing into another car.

Well, it's not speculative fiction after all. It seems a man, one Nathan Bullman, is offering his neck as advertising space to the highest bidder on eBay. He is trying to secure funding for school. Bullman posted a 10-day eBay auction Monday in hopes of earning enough money to get a degree. The 28-year-old says he is willing to get a permanent tattoo, advertising the highest bidder's website or company logo. "I knew if I was going to do this and be different, because people have tried something like this before, that it was going to have to …

Retailer Barnes & Noble is planning a brand refresh and using Interpublic's Boston-based Mullen to do it. The effort includes an estimated $40 marketing spend and store revamp. Mullen replaces Omnicom Group's Merkley & Partners as Barnes & Noble's lead advertising shop.

Coca-Cola hit the streets of Rio De Janeiro in a converted delivery truck, giving away everything from bottles of Coke to surfboards. The effort, via Definition 6, uses a "Where will happiness strike next?" theme. It has only done two of these stunts in two years. So one's chances of being struck by lightning are probably better.

Cherry, Geely, and other Chinese-made cars were always on the verge of being sold in the U.S., but probably mercifully haven't made it here. Until next year when the BYD F3DM could prove the exception.

Carmelo Anthony is moving to the New York Knicks from the Denver Nuggets. He is a top scorer playing in the biggest market, and it doesn't hurt that his wife La La Vazquez is a big TV personality. So he should be rolling in endorsements. But columnist Kurt Badenhausen says think again. "Look at Alex Rodriguez, who came to New York in 2004 as his sport's biggest star, and has yet to land a new high-profile endorsement deal," he writes. Anthony has not done as well as draft classmates LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade. Wade makes …

Former Chicago Bears safety and successful businessman Dave Duerson killed himself with a bullet to the heart. He did so to spare his head, asking that his brain be studied. The brain-tissue exam will be performed by the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy. The condition, called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), was identified in the brain tissue of former Andre Waters, a Philadelphia Eagles player who killed himself in 2006, one of several suicides of former players whose brain tissue has evinced CTE on examination. NFL alumni groups meet to talk about poor pensions and …

Kraft is promoting its American Singles brand through a deal with "Disney on Ice." The Disney promotion, which does not replace an ongoing relationship with Minor League Baseball, offers consumers 50% off two tickets to any of the five "Disney on Ice" shows across the country through May, including Disney Pixar's "Toy Story 3." The wrappers can be redeemed directly at the venue box office; mailed to the venue box office; or mailed to "Disney On Ice"'s customer service center. And for the first time, American Cheese Singles has added on-pack messaging, touting "Disney on Ice."

PepsiCo's decision to buy corn directly from small farmers in Mexico, obviating the need for a middleman, is part of a trend. The project began as a pilot program by a foundation tied to the company's Sabritas division, and now involves about 850 farmers.

The Jaguar B99 celebrates the 99th anniversary of the British sports-car brand (now owned by India-based Tata) and shows where the company is heading in the realm of smaller sports cars. The company's last foray into that region of the market was early in the millennium when Ford owned the company. The X-Type was essentially a Ford in a Jaguar pelt, and reviled as such. The new car, which looks like a super-sleek version of the XJ model, was designed by Italian firm Bertone, a frequent Jaguar collaborator. And the car will be a hybrid, with the engine designed by …