After its successful entry into the Super Bowl, with a spot that featured more than 50 classic cartoon characters, MetLife is taking its blimp, Peanuts gang spokespersons and naming rights deal at the home venue of the New York Jets, Giants and Super Bowl XLVIII to the next level.

Ford Motor Co. is expected to introduce a full lineup of crossovers and sport utility vehicles next week at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, banking on a growing middle-class appetite for larger vehicles to help it pull ahead in China. The automaker will signal its intention to take leadership in the SUV segment in the world's biggest auto market Monday. Beijing has become the most important auto show of the year for Ford and other automakers looking for quick global growth. Ford will debut four vehicles as part of its plan to bring 15 new vehicles to China by 2015. …

With its Reebok unit having been replaced by Nike as the league's official outfitter, adidas is upping the ante in its shoe division via a marketing campaign starring Robert Griffin III and the signing of Ryan Tannehill, both of whom will be top QB picks in the upcoming NFL draft.

Renaissance Hotel, part of Marriott International, and Revel, a new resort and casino in Atlantic City, are running lifestyle campaigns intended to attract hipsters. The agencies involved specialize in lifestyle advertising.

Verizon Wireless plans to put its marketing weight behind Microsoft Corp.'s next mobile phone software to help develop a strong competitor to Apple Inc. and Google Inc., according to the chief financial officer of Verizon Communications. Verizon Wireless sells the Apple iPhone and many devices based on Google's Android software. But Verizon CFO Fran Shammo said the company wants a third strong software competitor in the mobile market where operators pay hefty subsidies for smartphones like the iPhone. "We're really looking at the Windows Phone 8.0 platform because that's a differentiator. We're working with Microsoft on it," Shammo said in …

With the emergence of social media, more companies are replacing blogs with nimbler tools requiring less time and resources, such as Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. A survey released earlier this year by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth says the percentage of companies that maintain blogs fell to 37% in 2011 from 50% in 2010, based on its survey of the 500 fast-growing companies listed by Inc. magazine. Only 23% of Fortune 500 companies maintained a blog in 2011, flat from a year ago after rising for several years.

Sam's Club learned the power of Pinterest recently after one of its recipes drew a lot of interest on the fast-growing social networking site, said Shawn Baldwin, SVP, Fresh Freezer Cooler, for the membership warehouse club chain.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it will hire 100 additional developers in India as part of its @WalmartLabs unit, which is focused on growing the retailer's social media and mobile presence globally.

Eighty percent of Mountain Dew drinkers are white, according to iTrack Data. That's 10% more than the category as a whole. PepsiCo, Mountain Dew's parent company, is hoping to expand its demographic spectrum by boosting the youth-oriented beverage's appeal in cities. While Mountain Dew is the nation's best-selling non-cola soft drink, it's largely popular in suburbs of Plains states and the Southeast. With a marketing push featuring hip-hop artist Lil Wayne and skateboarder Paul Rodriguez, PepsiCo hopes to reach urban centers such as New York, Miami, Los Angeles and New Orleans.

Craft brewers are hoping their customers don't mind getting canned. Harpoon Brewery, for example, will add its own canning facility. Wachusett Brewing Co. is hoping canning other brewers' beers will justify its $1 million-plus investment in a canning line.