A single mom from St. Louis (who's in the investment banking business) paid for an airplane to fly around Manhattan yesterday as near to (ahem) Standard & Poor's offices as possible, towing this banner: "Thanks For The Downgrade. You Should All Be Fired." One can imagine other things they should be.

The Mohegan Sun has a new CMO in Paul Wright, most recently CMO for Bacardi USA. He will oversee the casino's marketing, advertising and entertainment activities. With more than 25 years of marketing experience, Wright has held executive positions as the vice president of marketing at Coca-Cola, and as a marketing director at both Warner-Lambert and General Mills. He began his marketing career with the Fingerhut catalog retailer.

Levi's global ad push, "Go Forth," may be postponed as the launch ad, "May Day," which is on Facebook and then is bound for cinema and TV, features shots of May Day celebrations in Berlin -- images similar to those of riots in London. Wieden & Kennedy handled creative for the campaign, which also includes digital, print, outdoor and in-store elements. Media was handled by OMB.

Visit Britain, the UK's tourism authority, has pulled a video promoting Britain with the tag, "You're Invited." The ad is now off the BBC iPlayer. A spokesman for Visit Britain said: "We have taken the videos down, they are not appropriate at this time." He said the video, which features Dame Judi Dench and Jamie Oliver, has been removed from the BBC iPlayer service, which hosts adverts overseas.

7-Eleven and Orbit Gum are offering codes for free movie rentals from Redbox kiosks at retail. Special Orbit displays that include tear pads are set up at participating 7-Eleven locations. To receive a free rental, customers have to be one of the first 150,000 people to take a code from the pad and redeem it at dvd.orbitgum.com. Redbox rental kiosks are also at Circle K, The Pantry and ExxonMobil.

A new study says that while kids are seeing fewer sugary, fatty foods advertised on TV, unhealthy food still makes up the bulk of food commercials they see. In fact, the researchers, who reported results in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, found children were actually seeing more fast-food commercials in 2009 compared with six years earlier. The study was aimed at gauging the effects of a voluntary food industry program called the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, which began in 2006 and includes 17 companies (Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, General Mills and Kellogg are among them.) …

Detroit area auto fans are hitting social networks and online forums to find out the latest news on the famed Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit, the world's largest parade of classic cars that brings in people from around the world. The media, including Twitter and Facebook, have allowed attendees to get a jump on celebrating the classic Cruise along Woodward before Aug. 20. The official Facebook page of the Woodward Dream Cruise has more than 8,000 fans, with as many as 100 posts per day, according to organizers.

The San Francisco Giants are fêting the dweebs on Sunday, Sept. 4, when they play the Arizona Diamondbacks. Purchasing a Star Wars Day ticket package will grant attendees in the Bay Area access to a pregame costume party and a seat in the "Star Wars Section." Then the geeks will get to camp out for a special screening of "The Empire Strikes Back."

Under Armour, known for sweat-absorbing sportswear, is launching its biggest campaign to date for footwear. The "Footsteps" campaign comprises television, online, print and social media, and features shots of jocks like Heisman winner Cam Newton, and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in training. "Do you hear footsteps?" whispers Ray Lewis, the Baltimore Ravens linebacker, who narrates the 30-second spot, "or are they hearing yours?"

Walmart has made news with plans to get into the smaller-store format. But the big box chain isn't alone. Small food stores and "express" versions of big box stores are a new trend. Stores between 10,000 and 20,000 square feet from Trader Joe's, Save-A-Lot, Dollar General, Aldi and Fresh Market and convenience-focused "express" stores like Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market are where the new store growth has been in the food retail industry.