Lincoln is uncovering luxury in a new campaign that compares the 2014 MKZ to Lexus. It will run on prime time network and cable TV shows and will have a social media component. Several of the new spots, featuring the 2014 MKZ sedan, show young couples posing questions to a pair of cars facing them: the Lincoln MKZ and the Lexus ES.

Half of respondents to a Mintel survey of households making over $150,000 say that they are shopping at dollar stores the same amount this year compared to last year, with 10% sahing they are doing so more than last year. "Dollar and discount stores benefit from continued consumer caution regarding spending, as well as an improved level of acceptance and satisfaction of the products offered and the shopping experience in these channels," said Ali Lipson, retail analyst at Mintel.

Dozens of video gaming cafes targeting women might open in the Chicago area. The cash for these joints is coming from lobbyists, a fast-food magnate and Zynga co-founder Mark Pincus. The cafes have names like Stella's Place and Dotty's. They are designed to appeal to women and lure them in for a drink, a bit and a gamble.

Money talks, health walks. LeBron James, Peyton Manning and Serena Williams are among highly paid athletes making padding their strong boxes through junk food endorsements marketed to youth. The NBA, NFL and WTA ball tossers were the top athlete endorsers for junk food on TV, radio, print and online ads reaching teens 12 to 17, according to a new study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale.

Rugged-footwear brand Timberland is looking to reposition itself as a lifestyle brand for people in their 20's and 30's. The "Best Then. Better Now" campaign comes two years after the company's acquisition by North Carolina-based VF Corp, which also owns the North Face, Nautica, and Wrangler. The Timberland campaign is social media-centric, with print and a 60-second TV spot. The goal is to create space between the New Hampshire brand and sibling North Face, which VF sees as a serious outdoor gear performance brand.

Burger King has signed a three-year deal making it an official corporate partner and the official quick service restaurant of the NCAA. The alliance will be a supported by year-round marketing program with sponsorships of all 89 college sports championships, including March Madness and the NCAA men's and women's Div. 1 basketball Final Four. Burger King said it would have a customized, national TV campaign surrounding the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on TNT, TBS, truTV and CBS; as well as a "comprehensive digital campaign" on March Madness Live, NCAA.com, Bleacher Report and CBSSports.com.

General Motors plans to expand a new online shopping tool that allows customers to bypass showrooms when buying new cars. The Detroit automaker will give the web-based application, called Shop-Click-Drive, to its entire dealer network. Acting a bit like third-party sites, letting new-car buyers use their computer screen to lock in the price of a new car, get an estimate of the trade-in value of their old car, apply for financing and even arrange a test drive or delivery of their new vehicle.

More than a decade ago, And1 hit the pro courts and neighborhood playgrounds with a roster of endorsers that included NBA stars Stephon Marbury, Ben Wallace and Kevin Garnett and a group of Mixtape Tour street-ballers such as Hot Sauce, Sik Wit It, The Professor and Skip to my Lou. But a series of ownership changes saw the brand lose its marketing mantra, brash attitude and many of its customers.

A new study examining the "oral interference" effect suggests people who are chewing won't remember your ads. Researchers from Germany's University of Wuerzburg had subjects view ads while eating popcorn or chewing gum. A control group watched the same ads while sucking on a single sugar cube. Control participants were more likely to spend money and had higher preference and physiological responses for advertised brands, while participants who had consumed popcorn or gum showed no advertising effects.

Investors may be worrying about the impact of a fire that severely damaged a Tesla Model S battery car last week, but the maker's CEO, Elon Musk is defending the electric car's design and arguing that the accident actually proves it is safer than a comparable gasoline-fueled vehicle. Musk took to the company's blog to talk about it the fire that was caught on video and went viral. There were no injuries in the incident, apparently in part due to the vehicle's own warning system which advised the driver to pull over and exit before the fire erupted in the …