Walmart wants to help women-owned businesses and women workers, so it says. The company, still dealing with the possibility of sex discrimination claims after the Supreme Court threw out a class-action suit by women workers this summer, said it planned to source a total of $20 billion in products from women-owned businesses in the United States over the next five years. The company said it would also support training of women in factories and farms that are Walmart suppliers, and will donate $100 million to causes supporting women's economic development. It will also, per a statement, ask its …

A woman who was targeted by Toyota in a stalker-themed online advertising stunt will be allowed to sue the company, despite the carmaker's argument that she unknowingly agreed to the whole thing. Amber Duick sued Toyota in 2009 over its intrusive "Your Other You" campaign, after she began receiving frightening e-mails over a number of days from a strange man. The man, who had her home address, told her he was on the lam from the law and needed to crash at her place for a bit to hide out with his pit bull, Trigger. More hijinks ensued, …

Bnet columnist Jim Edwards argues that Mike Sheehan, CEO of ad agency Hill Holliday, is "flat wrong" to criticize Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD)'s decision recreate with slight changes, his original Sept. 11 tribute ad that ran in the Super Bowl 10 years ago. Both old and new ads have the Budweiser Clydesdales walking to within viewing distance of lower Manhattan and bowing their heads. "The average consumer would be hard-pressed to spot the difference," says Edwards, pointing out that in the original ad it was snowing. He quotes Sheehan who said "... it still is often cited as one of the …

Ventura, Calif.-based outdoor clothing company has tapped Dmitri Siegel as the company's new VP global e-commerce, effective Sept. 12. Siegel most recently was executive director marketing at Urban Outfitters, and before that art director and designer for the Sundance Channel, Bravo and several graphic design agencies.

Small cars used to be on the loss column when automakers counted on SUVs and big cars for profits. Now, with transaction prices high and incentives hard to find and a raft of new feature-filled small cars hitting the road, profits are up. The trend is also being driven by upsized gasoline prices. Edmunds.com says average transaction prices in the compact-car segment have ballooned in the last year by more than $1,300 per vehicle.

Procter & Gamble's Crest Pro-Health brand has brought in actress, author and health advocate Marilu Henner to pitch its Pro-Health line to older adults. The focus is on gum health during the second annual National Gingivitis Awareness Month this September. Crest will sponsor the Crest Pro-Health Clinical Gum Protection Invigorating Clean booth at Life@50+, AARP's National Event and Expo, which will be held from Sept. 22 to 24 in Los Angeles. Consumers who visit the booth can consult a dental hygienist about oral health questions and concerns and learn more about gingivitis. The booth also will feature a …

Restaurant chain Legal Seafood launched three 15-second commercials that start off looking like public service ads for fisheries conservation, specifically about saving salmon, trout and crabs. But after a few seconds of sanctimonious voiceover and shots of fish in nature they pull out the rug, suggesting seafood should be saved because it's seafood and tastes real good grilled. "I'm not trying to antagonize environmentalists," says Roger Berkowitz, CEO of Legal Sea Foods. "I'm trying to educate consumers." "Ironically, the trout sold by Legal Sea Foods is farmed and has never seen a golden brook or sunlit …

The National Retail Federation, a Washington, D.C., industry group, is introducing a yearlong advocacy campaign next week that will emphasize the economic importance of the retail industry and lay out an agenda for jobs, innovation and consumer value on behalf of U.S. retailers. The expansive campaign will encompass lobbying, grass-roots mobilization, social media advertising, earned media and international outreach, among other components. It includes a new "action center" designed to support the retail community's jobs agenda and offer data from a new economic study that points out the key role retail plays in the U.S. economy on a …

Boston-based ad agency Mullen has promoted Alex Leikikh to president of the agency's headquarters office. Leikikh joined Mullen in 2009 as managing partner and the director of account service. He helped land shoe-and-apparel retailer Zappos, JetBlue Airways, and Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader. Leikikh has also worked on multiple assignments for Google, Inc. Besides running operations from headquarters in Boston, Mullen fields offices in North Carolina, Detroit, and Pittsburgh.

In spite of reduced reimbursements, fewer patients, and a sluggish economy, hospitals, clinics, and medical centers spent $717.2 million on advertising in the first half of this year, 20% more ad dollars spent than in the same period in 2010. Healthcare facilities in New York have $80 million in ads this year, and are using humor. An ad for Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, which has been serving patients since 1857, reads: "We had cardiologists before the city even had arteries." Meanwhile, an ad for Mount Sinai Medical Center features witty patient success stories, such as: "Ironic that …