McDonald's is trying to modernize its stores but a survey of McDonald's franchisees conducted by Janney Capital Markets analyst Mark Kalinowski shows that remodeling investments and marketing programs such as discounting are viewed badly by some operators. All 30 operators polled answered "No" when Kalinowski asked, "In your experience, is the typical McDonald's franchisee's 2012 cash flow growing at a commensurate rate with that of a McDonald's shareholder return?"

With spy shots of "America's Sports Car" around the web, and technical details beginning to leak to the media, Chevy is getting ready to reveal to the world what it's come up with for the 2014 model, known to aficionados as the C7. The world will get its first official look at the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette on Jan. 13, during a preview at the Detroit Auto Show. But Chevy is already offering a few details - and a look at the logo for what is only the seventh version of the car in its 60-year history.

Hollywood star power lends credibility to wallowing brands and may lead to better sales. Jenny Craig had flat sales before Kirstie Alley came on board. Once it added her to its advertising campaign, sales increased nearly 120% between 2005 and 2006. Burger King was in decline, but then hired Jay Leno, David Beckham, Mary J. Blige, Steven Tyler and Sophia Vergara to star in its ads. This gave the company a bigger one-quarter earnings growth than McDonald's.

Here is a list of the top women in startups. Among them is Cella Irvine, CEO of Vibrant Media. Irvine was formerly CAO of advertising agency, Digitas, and CEO of The About Group (About.com). Vibrant has grown to become a $300 million advertising company.

Now's a good time to invest in gun maker Ruger, which is doing really well right now. Gun ownership is at a near 20-year high, generating $4 billion in commercial gun and ammunition sales. Because of the shootings in Aurora, Colo., and Oak Creek, Wis., and elsewhere, and fears about President Obama's position on gun control, "the country is arming itself," says CL King analyst Jim Barrett. With an estimated 300 million guns, America is, by far, the most heavily armed nation in the world.

Lance Armstrong stepped down as chairman of the Livestrong cancer support charity he founded. Nike dropped him over the doping scandal that will likely cost him his seven Tour de France titles. Yet, Livestrong donations have actually increased despite the scandal. Anheuser-Busch is also ending its relationship with Armstrong, as is Trek. Oakley Inc, the sunglasses brand said it was reviewing the reports into the cyclist's conduct and awaiting a final decision from the sport's international authorities. A Radio Shack spokesman said the electronics retailer remains a sponsor of Armstrong and Livestrong.

UK advertising spend increased 3.8% year-on-year in the second quarter, exceeding earlier forecasts by 0.9 percentage points, with growth driven by the Jubilee and Euro 2012, as well as advertisers moving budgets forward for the Olympics, according to the latest Advertising Association/Warc Expenditure Report. Ads on cinema led with a 23.9% increase, ahead of online (14.8%), radio (9.4%), TV (4.4%) and out-of-home, which got a pre-Olympics boost of 9.9%.

The new Lincoln MKZ is a looker, and a reflection of how badly Ford's Lincoln brand wants back into the luxury consideration list. The MKZ is one of four new Lincoln models in coming years. But an older customer base and a competitive luxury market mean Lincoln has a lot of work ahead. "Ford needs to make a statement about what the brand is - because that's not been clear - and where the brand is headed," said Michelle Krebs, an auto analyst at Edmunds.com about the importance of the MKZ to Lincoln.

Observers in the foodservice industry are looking at the sugary-beverage ban scheduled to take effect in March in New York. They are hoping what happens in New York stays in New York. Unfortunately, "what happens in New York tends to spread to other municipalities very quickly," says Andrew Moesel, spokesman for the New York State Restaurant Association. "We are clearly a place where other cities look to determine their policy, and that's why this proposal could be problematic, not just for New York City, but for a nation as a whole."

Global Olympic partners like Visa, GE, and Coca-Cola are planning their campaigns for the next games early. And marketers from host countries are also getting up to speed. Tourism boards such as Embratur in Brazil are already launching their campaigns, many of which will continue even after the international events end. Visa and GE both said they're planning marketing campaigns for the 2014 Sochi and 2016 Rio games; both declined to provide further details. Coca-Cola is currently performing an "after-action review" on its 2012 London campaign to decide how to approach future Olympic marketing efforts, says Claudia Navarro, the company's …