Dollar General is opening its first fuel station, as part of a test pilot project. The new fuel pumps are located at the Dollar General Market in Hanceville, Ala. The pilot project is part of an agreement with distribution channel. Mansfield Oil. Dollar General and Mansfield will evaluate the results of the pilot project during the next year and jointly assess expansion opportunities.

If you like or link to a product on Facebook, there's a decent chance you will pitch it because Facebook will put you front and center in an ad for the product as if you are a word-of-mouth endorser. Facebook isn't alone in this: Google's "+1" button means social endorsement can appear in an ad. Google has announced that it also plans to expand the program next month and turn reviews, ratings and comments from users ages 18 and older into endorsements.

On Friday, Under Armour, which has built its reputation on high-tech gear, hosted a futurist competition in its home town of Baltimore to generate new ideas for sports tech. The $80 billion athletic apparel and equipment business isn't NASA, so it has limited in-house R&D brain trust. From a field of 4,000 applicants, 7 got the nod to make their pitch in 10 minutes.

Katy Perry is on the hot plate for appearing in ads for Pepsi. It's not news that a celebrity is hawking the soda, but the harsh focus on sugary sodas is. The Center for Science in the Public Interest and other groups are running a full-page ad in Variety asking her to stop marketing Pepsi to young peeps. The hope is that celebrities will reconsider. Perry has a new LP coming out, so it's all in the timing.

Apparently feminism has a branding problem. In September, VITAMIN W launched a contest encouraging people to come up with creative solutions to address feminism's “bad rep”, and this month, Elle magazine published a spread asking three advertising agencies to “re-brand a term that many feel has become burdened with complications and negativity.”

For 60 years, Israel told its story mostly by talking about the problems. Now Israel markets itself like any other brand, said Ambassador Ido Aharoni, Consul General of Israel in New York City, at Ad Age's CMO Strategy Summit in San Francisco. Israel is looking to change perceptions by talking up its tech sector and wine industry, as well as programs for American Jews like "Birthright Israel." Aharoni talked about the challenge of marketing a country and the way Israel works with its agency partners.

7-Eleven is expanding its wine offering by selling ultra-premium wines for $20. Last month the chain began selling better-for-you snacks including organic trail mix. "We have to take care of our more affluent guests, too," says Alan Beach, vice president of merchandising.Wines available at select 7-Eleven stores include La Crema Chardonnay, Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon, Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc and Wild Horse Pinot Noir.

Chevrolet took one of the new Camaro Z28 high performance cars to Germany for a run around the Nurburgring circuit. It beat the track numbers for the Porsche 911, more in line with the pretzel track. While the costly Z28 is likely to become little more than a niche model, Chevy is betting it will put a halo around the 2014 Camaro’s more mainstream versions -- critical in reversing a 6% slide that could let the Ford Mustang regain its pony car sales crown for 2013 after lagging the Camaro since its re-launch a few years back.

Burger King Worldwide Inc. has named Axel Schwan executive vice president and global CMO, effective Jan. 1. Schwan will replace current CMO Flavia Faugeres, who will remain in her post for the duration of the year. For the past two years Schwan has been the VP of marketing and communications for Burger King’s Europe, Middle East and Africa, or EMEA, division.

The $1.5 billion U.S. electronic-cigarette industry has tripled sales this year with the help of TV ads, Nascar sponsorships and product giveaways. Government regulation may now threaten those marketing tactics. The Food and Drug Administration is set to decide this month whether to lump e-cigarettes in with conventional smokes as part of its oversight of the $90 billion U.S. tobacco market. Such a step would set the stage for greater restrictions on production, advertising, flavorings and online sales.