Fresno City Hall's effort to hire a communication expert has collapsed. The City Council on Thursday struggled for 90 minutes to spend nearly $2 million for an advertising firm to combat public confusion about water issues, only to realize it was too confused to pull the trigger.

Ford has scrapped its "Drive One" advertising theme in favor of an external rollout of a new corporate mantra, "Go Further," that it launched internally, and with dealers, in January. The kicker is that Ford's first "Go Further" advertisement on U.S. television doesn't identify the Ford brand or blue oval.

Toyota is charging into the electric vehicle market. Barely two months after beginning sales of its first plug-in hybrid the Japanese giant has officially launched the new RAV4-EV, a fully-electric version of its popular "cute-ute."

The success with which "The Hunger Games" film harnessed social networks, en route to becoming 2012's biggest blockbuster, underscores a growing threat to billions of dollars in movie-advertising revenue on which broadcasters rely. The movie has made over $375 million at the U.S. box office since it opened in March, in part because Lions Gate aggressively stoked interest on social network sites like Facebook and Twitter.

In the past few months, Bud Light has launched higher-alcohol Bud Light Platinum, killed Bud Light Golden Wheat and debuted Bud Light Lime "Lime-A-Rita," a margarita-flavored malt beverage in a can. Advertising for the nation's largest beer brand is now handled by Dentsu's McGarryBowen, which won the main Bud Light account last year, and Translation, which has Platinum and Lime. Lime's newest ads debut Friday, featuring a remix of Will Smith's "Summertime" by Swizz Beatz that was specially produced for the campaign.

A midsize sedan will cost you nearly $9,000 a year to keep fueled, licensed, insured and maintained. Buying, owning and operating a car is getting more expensive every year, and not just because of the cost of fuel, which has risen an average 14.8% over the last year. The cost of replacement tires has jumped 4.2%, according to the 62nd annual "Your Driving Costs" survey from AAA. And insurance has gone up an average 3.4%.

Larry Friedman, chief research officer at TNS North America, writes that marketers who focus on eyeballs with the social media programs are missing the point. "Too many marketers still don't get what is different about social media," he writes. "There are two words in 'social media,' but too many people are hearing just the 'media' half."

Dunkin' Donuts is promoting menu items with tie-ins to "Men In Black 3," a Sony Pictures movie set to open later this month. A Dunkin' TV ad will use some of the movie's themes and images. Last year, Dunkin' had a similar promotion using the "Captain America" movie. Dunkin's sister chain, Baskin-Robbins, is also using "Men In Black 3" to market some new items on its ice cream menu.

Online grocer Peapod is testing a display in Chicago pedestrian and transit areas that let shoppers scan products, download the Peapod app and perform other functions. The company, a division of Ahold USA, first tested the service at commuter rail stations in Philadelphia earlier this year. It is still available in nine locations there.

In what it called the best quarter in its 32-year history, Whole Foods Market's second-quarter profit jumped nearly 31% on stronger sales. The company raised its full-year outlook on the results. Whole Foods earned a better-than-expected $117.7 million for the quarter that ended April 8, up from $89.9 million in the same quarter last year.