The housewife fantasy is back with brands like Clorox's Liquid-Plumr adding some sexiness to a commodity product with hunks and a message that the plumber will go to great lengths to clean. DDB California, which a spot for the Clorox brand's "Double Impact" formula is doing the new ad for the brand's new "Urgent Clear" product.

HanesBrands is buying struggling rival Maidenform Brands for $575 million in a deal that analysts believe will provide much-needed marketing support to Maidenform and boost its retail presence. A Hanes spokesman said the company had no plans yet regarding Maidenform and advertising agencies. Maidenform's last agency of record was the Portland, Maine-based Via Agency in 2010. The company spent only $528,000 on measured media in 2011 and nothing on measured media in 2012, according to Kantar Media. Hanes, on the other hand, spent $24 million on measured media in 2012.

Kmart is offering members of its Shop Your Way loyalty program the option to reserve items online, and pay at their local Kmart store using their cash, check, debit, loyalty points, credit or gift card. The Pay in Store program launches nationally this month and allows online shoppers to select the option and reserve an item for 48 hours. "Customers want a shopping experience that seamlessly integrates the physical world of shopping with the digital world," said Imran Jooma, executive VP and president, marketing, online, and financial services, Sears Holdings.

Emily Hodgson and Emilie Riis, staffers at London ad agency 18 Feet & Rising, have gone to the web to pester Nike. They've created Purple Unicorn Planet, a site that looks like a site selling various Nike training shoes. But when one clicks on the sneakers one gets a message that Nike doesn't make those shoes in women's sizes. They urge you to share a letter of protest with Nike (it begins, "Somewhere in Swoosh Central, there's been an oversight"). There's also a Twitter feed, @PunicornP, and hashtag #PleaseJustDoIt.

Gary Pascoe has been named chief creative officer, North America, at Chevrolet agency Commonwealth. Pascoe joins the McCann Worldgroup unit from JWT/Team Detroit where he was executive creative director, executive vp. Pascoe will oversee Commonwealth's approximately 60-person creative department in Detroit. The role is effectively a new position established after the consolidation of Commonwealth at McCann in March.

Volkswagen grabbed the top spot in the latest J.D. Power APEAL study, a survey that focuses on the things that surprise and delight car buyers rather than the problems that frustrate them. The German maker's Porsche and Audi brands topped the annual report while five individual VW Group models led their individual product segments. General Motors and Ford Motor Co. followed close behind.

A mower that goes 130 mph? Yes, It's Honda's Mean Mower. It built the machine in response to a Top Gear magazine challenge and had Scottish race-car driver and British Touring Car Champion Gordon "Flash" Shedden test it from behind the wheel. The automaker dropped a 1,000cc motorcycle engine into one of its riding mowers. The suspension and tires were added from a racing ATV, allowing it to go from 0-60 mph in just four seconds. It clocked 100 mph on a test spin at Top Gear's annual Speed Week event.

Wendy's reported only a 0.4% gain in company-store comp sales for the second quarter, below expectations. So it is counting on its new and expensive Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburger to rescue 2013 sales. The company that devised "Image Activation" for remodeling is adding "system optimization," otherwise known as refranchising. Wendy's plans to refranchise 425 restaurants in its 6,500-store system, thus reducing the share of company-operated stores to 15% from 22%.

Campbell Soup Company will launch more than 200 products in the coming months - from Goldfish Mac & Cheese to a new variety of V8 sold cold -- as it adjusts for what CEO Denise Morrison described as "seismic shifts" in the food marketplace. Many of the new items are launching in categories outside of the marketer's core soup business, as Campbell continues to follow consumers who are demanding more fresh foods.

Fiat's spot featuring nude women painted to look like a car has gotten the Chrysler LLC brand a lot of attention but maybe not so much brand consideration. Ad awareness for the brand has continued its 2013 uptick, but purchase consideration remains behind the other minicar import, Mini. Both brands are aimed at roughly the same customer. Mini posted its best-ever sales month in June, up 9.6%. Fiat also posted strong sales so far this year, with a 7.9% increase in sales in the first quarter in the U.S.