No, it's not another apocalypse predictor with a calculator and a sure-fire algorithm for figuring out when the end is REALLY coming. The "End is Near" signs in El Paso are part of a local company's teaser campaign.

Connecticut gubernatorial candidate Dannel P. Malloy visited Mystic Seaport and Mystic Aquarium to announce a plan for developing and promoting tourism in Connecticut. The industry generates more than $11 billion in revenue for the state, including $1.1 billion in hotel, gasoline and sales tax revenues. Malloy pledged $15 million to market the state. Last year, Connecticut was the only New England state with a net decline in visits to attractions.

GEICO, which has used cavemen and a talking tropical reptile, is creating a new campaign. One of the new spots has parents trying to teach their 5-year-old son how to dunk a basketball. As in all campaigns for the auto insurance company, owned by Berkshire Hathaway, it is about how spending 15 minutes with GEICO can help save money on insurance purchases. The ads use exaggerated humor to depict unpleasant methods of saving money like teaching a 5-year-old to dunk a basketball so that he may eventually land a college scholarship, economizing on sushi by foraging in …

Rupert Murdoch, Inc. is betting that the extreme cure -- dismasting itself of the News of the World -- will save the News Corp. brand from the gangrenous influence of the hacking operations at that tabloid. But will that be enough to keep the phone-hacking scandal spreading to the wider News Corp. brand, which includes The Times, Sunday Times, The Sun and BSkyB? Some say no. "I think the strategic error that News Corp. made was in thinking that if they shut the paper, that would end it, that the toxicity would end with the paper," said brand …

Commissioner David Stern has been working over the past few years to expand the NBA brand overseas, and has therefore helped make it the world's No. 2 global professional sport, behind soccer. Yao Ming, who retired last week, was the single most important player in marketing the league in foreign markets in the 21st century. Asian and European basketball fans are no longer content with their home teams and players are global products. One NBA team in Turkey is offering American NBA players a place to shoot should the lockout wipe out much or all of the NBA …

Last year, consumers spent more than $55 billion on back-to-school shopping, according to the National Retail Federation, but retailers, nervous about the economy, are starting out of the gate earlier and earlier to get consumers to shop for their kids. Toys R Us' "Pack to School" sale on backpacks and lunchboxes started as early as July 1 in some parts of the country. "If they can put the sale on and beat the competition to the punch, retailers can get consumers to buy before they normally would," says Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst at NPD Group. …

Cincinnati-based Macy's reported total sales of nearly $2.4 billion for the five weeks ended July 2, an increase of 7.5% compared with $2.23 billion in the same period last year. Same-store sales for Macy's were up 6.7% in June. Online sales -- for both macys.com and bloomingdales.com -- were up 45% in June and 39.6% year-to-date. With the report on June's sales, Macy's, which has 850 department stores in 45 states, is raising its guidance for second-quarter sales.

MasterCard Worldwide is taking its "Priceless" experiential program to major cities worldwide. The company's global rewards program will launch in New York. The centerpiece of the initiative is a new section of the MasterCard Web site, mastercard.com/pricelessny. There will also be a considerable presence in social media for Priceless Cities, on sites like Facebook and Twitter. The Priceless Cities effort will be the subject of a big advertising and marketing campaign, to be handled by five agencies, including McCann Erickson Worldwide, the creator of the original "Priceless" ads. The introduction of Priceless Cities comes …

A man named Marco has done a video for Ballantine's scotch in which he gets a QR code tattoo on his chest. The video shows him getting the tattoo and then putting a smartphone on his chest in from of the code, and launching the app that turns out to be an animated video that sings. Tattoo artist K.A.R.L. says, "What makes this tattoo special is not just that it links to an animation. It's that we will be able to change the animation as time goes on. As Marco grows older and his ideas change, we can …

Colgate's new campaign, "Smile," shows that mixing social media with traditional advertising can boost sales by linking the online community to outdoor marketing activities. Colgate is using a dedicated Facebook page where users can upload pictures of themselves smiling. These become collage posters which can be seen in supermarkets, shopping malls and other point of sale locations. Analysis shows users are more likely to discuss purchasing toothpaste as the campaign goes on. The campaign also is having a positive impact on brand image: users identify Colgate with a sense of community and "fun."