Forget flowers, how about the sweet scent of King's County effluence? The Department of Environmental Protection is marketing the Newtown Creek Wastewater treatment plant with a Valentine's Day Tour.

In a survey conducted last month and commissioned by the Australian Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education, 17% of respondents said they would rather risk skin cancer than use sunscreens containing nanoparticles. Studies indicate that sunscreens containing nanoparticles are no riskier than those of traditional sunscreens, yet 440,000 Australians receive medical treatment for skin cancers, and more than 1,700 people die from all types of skin cancer annually, according to the Cancer Council of Australia.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally hasn't hinted at a successor even though he has made some changes in recent days. Forbes writer Micheline Maynard writes that there are only a few inside candidates whom anyone in Detroit talks about: Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas, Joe Hinrichs, the manufacturing expert who runs Asia-Pacific and Africa, and John Fleming, who has been CEO of Ford of Europe.

"Saturday Night Live" makes fun of Verizon in this skit, which perfectly mocks the utter incomprehensibility of the wireless company's claims, offers, devices, and networks.

It was not a well-kept secret but it still came with a few surprises: The NHL's New Year's Day jewel event will take place at the University of Michigan between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, and marketers and media partner NBC are heating up over a possible record-setting attendance of 115,000.

Nike's 2012 version of its Air Jordan shoe is the zoot suit, with that era "an anchor to focus on the audacious, confident and daring style that the youth and entertainers brought forth during that time," per Nike senior footwear designer Tom Luedecke. "We see a new wave of this mind-set today. It was a break with tradition, a bold departure from the status quo."

Apple's suit versus Samsung Electronics Co. is set for a hearing May 2. It's just the latest in a series of legal actions charging the Seoul firm with stealing ideas and applying them to their own devices. Apple seeks a court order blocking the alleged infringement in smartphones such as Samsung's Galaxy S II Skyrocket and Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch, which use Google's Android operating system, and Samsung's Galaxy 4.0 and 5.0 media players.

Chrysler CMO Olivier Franois said the "Halftime in America" Super Bowl ad was not designed to send any kind of political message nor was it a statement of support for President Barack Obama's re-election.

Advertising is becoming increasingly interconnected, and more marketers are pushing out innovative cross-platform campaigns. How does each medium perform? They're not all created equally. Mobile phones generate a much higher click-through (or "interaction") rate - 4.5 times as high as people's response to online video. At the link more details on how new media outlets can help each other.

With more than half of Yum! Brands' profits now derived from stores in 73 emerging countries outside the U.S., Yum CEO David Novak said the company sees global growth as one of its biggest opportunities in 2012. Novak said that China in particular is "the best restaurant growth opportunity of the 21st Century."