American Eagle Outfitters Inc. opened its first-ever Manhattan "77kids NYC Style Lab" on July 20. The lab is in the entire lower level of American Eagle Outfitters' Times Square flagship and includes decorative elements, such as subway relics, a "newspaper stand" and references to Coney Island's theme park. There is also a motion-activated staircase that lights up as shoppers enter the store, and touch screens where customers can interact with animated characters and select 77kids outfits to "try on."

Two months after Merck & Co. and Roche inked a deal to promote Merck's Victrilis (boceprevir) in the U.S. as part of a triple combination therapy for chronic hepatitis C (HCV), the companies are expanding their marketing effort overseas. Merck says it will work with Roche in Europe, Asia, and Latin America to educate physicians and patients about HCV and promote Victrelis in combination with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin (peg/riba).

Google is introducing a credit card for its advertising customers. The card, however, can only be used to pay for search ads on Google. Google is offering the card to select U.S. clients with "a competitive interest rate," an ample credit line and no annual fee. The AdWords Business credit card is Google's first entry in vendor financing. A common practice among hardware makers, it lets marketers spend more on its search ads when the need arises. Claire Johnson, vice president of global online sales at Google, said the credit card was designed to help small and medium-sized businesses …

The 2012 Mercedes-Benz M class will be featured when the company talks safety. Steve Cannon, VP marketing, says the campaign "is going to be real red meat," since it will be based on product features and customer benefits. The vehicle, which hits showrooms in September, has a drowsiness detection system called Attention Assist and options like a blind-spot monitoring and lane-departure assist that had been available only on more expensive Mercedes-Benz passenger cars. Mercedes has been featuring a Google executive whose S-class sedan, with Distronic Plus with Pre-Safe braking, helped him avoid an accident. The system automatically detected …

Ocean Spray has rolled out "cranberry bog" environments in urban centers. Ocean Spray, for whom summer is the most lucrative time of year, is also using the vehicle tour to offer samples and coupons at state fairs, festivals and other special events across the country. Teens can snap a tag from SpyderLynk placed on the backs of brand reps' T-shirts and be rewarded with a recipe that incorporates an Ocean Spray beverage, and a product photo. Other elements include recipes using its beverages, offered online, and there's a "Summer Recipe Contest" for people who like the brand's Facebook …

In China, Apple's products are so in demand that they make fake iPods, iPhones and Macs. How about fake Apple stores? Why not. The fake stores are selling real Apple products, though how they are getting them is a mystery. An American woman living in Kunming, China, says fake Apple stores are proliferating and are such good fakes it is hard to tell them apart from the real thing: they have the same wooden tables, winding staircases, concrete floors, branded posters, and signs, and the employees apparently think they work for Apple. Only when one does a search …

Kim Kardashian is after Old Navy for using lookalike Melissa Molinaro in its new ad campaign. Molinaro looks like Kardashian and is dating Kardashian's ex, NFL star Reggie Bush. The reality-show celebrity is suing for $15-20 million. Molinaro's music video-inspired campaign, "Super C-U-T-E," done for the company, has become a web video viral hit. Apparently Molinaro is styled to look exactly like Kardashian in the vid. Kim filed her federal lawsuit against Old Navy in Los Angeles, for the unauthorized use of her name, likeness, identity and persona, asserting that the company is using the double in order …

TBG Digital reports that the number of paid brand advertising campaigns on Facebook rose 104% in Q2 when compared to Q1. Retailers are the fastest-growing marketing sector on the social network's advertising space, with 36% of all impressions. The second-fastest growth spurt involved finance and credit card campaigns, while jobs and education also gained dramatically. TBG's report states there was a 435% improvement in conversions -- measured by transactions such as purchases, registering for loyalty cards, and RSVPing for events -- when brands targeted existing likes or fans compared to when they did not. TBG's data also …

Unilever has named Publicis' Razorfish global digital agency of record for Surf detergent and Dove hair. The agency will help launch new markets and products for the brands. Keith Weed, Unilever's head of marketing, seeks to streamline the digital agency lineup worldwide. Razorfish joins AKQA, SapientNitro and Euro RSCG.

As Nissan ramps up production of the Leaf electric car and sends the vehicle into new markets, the company is offering an updated version of the car for model year 2012. The new version gets things like a winter driving package and a more powerful quick charger. But it gets something else: a higher price. Leaf was initially available in seven states. By month's end, Nissan will have added Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C.