With Super Bowl XLVIII just months away from taking over the New York area, marketers are positioning themselves to take full advantage of an event that is expected to attract more worldwide media, and possibly garner the biggest viewing TV audience, in NFL history. Case in point: Papa John's, the official pizza of the NFL and Super Bowl XLVIII, has signed a deal to become the official pizza of the New York Yankees. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Thanks to his marketing alliance with State Farm, Aaron Rodgers continued to be part of the Monday Night Football game on ESPN long after he left the field with what turned out to be a broken collarbone. Rodgers, quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, appeared in a new State Farm "State of Turbulence" commercial, which debuted during the game against the Chicago Bears. The story line is a continuation of a TV spot that broke in September.

Addressing a truly niche market - affluent people coping during a blackout - British inventor of edibles Charlie Francis has created a glow-in-the-dark ice cream using synthesized jellyfish proteins. It's $220 a scoop. Francis is the owner of Lick Me I'm Delicious, which specializes in exotic ice cream flavors. They've tried these flavors too: roast beef, salted whiskey caramels, rhubarb chocolate macaroons, raspberry mojito, and cheddar cheese.

Is Procter & Gamble considering selling off Iams and Eukanuba pet food? Chief executive A.G. Lafley suggested he might do that. "Iams just doesn't fit their core business," said Leon Loewenstine, managing director at Riverpoint Capital Management. "And Lafley's under pressure to take bolder action to grow sales." Lafley has a track record of selling off underperforming food businesses, as he did with Jif peanut butter and Crisco shortening.

The Chicago-based Smith Brothers cough drop brand has slipped out of the market share wars, ending up in dollar stores in a market where Mondelez' Halls, and Ricola rule. New owners have other ideas. Said Steve Silk, 60, new CEO of Smith Brothers in late 2011. "We're going to advertise and promote and develop products for this brand that will make it worthy of national distribution and capable of moving product across the country."

It's just one billboard, but the earned media is priceless. It's the sign on Sunset Blvd. for SnoreStop that depicts a U.S. soldier embracing a Muslim women with her face veiled with the message "#betogether." Said soldier Paul Evans, who posed for the ad with his real-life girlfriend, "I did this because I am no stranger to other people's discrimination." Said a SnoreStop spokesperson, "We want to show couples that you normally don't see in advertising."

General Motors has been steadily losing market share even though its products have gotten great reviews, and that is raising concerns about the maker's competitiveness, according to a new report from the General Accounting Office, which continues to monitor the U.S. Treasury Department's investment in the Detroit maker following its 2009 bankruptcy. The latest government report estimates taxpayers will ultimately lose about $9.7 billion on the bailout.

In Warminster, Penn., shoppers are getting help navigating the Health Insurance Marketplace with assistance from an on-site hospital concierge, under ShopRite's Health Connections by Doylestown Hospital program. Said a spokesperson for the retailer, "She can advise [patients] and help them navigate the maze of the [exchange] and what benefits they're eligible for, but she can't tell them which [health insurance] plan is the best." The health concierge is undergoing training to become a certified "navigator."

The Outrigger Hotels and Resorts leisure group is looking to grow in Asia-Pacific, but is doing so without traditional ads. Said Sean Dee, the group's global CMO, "We are going to effectively eliminate our traditional advertising globally and really push towards digital, mobile and social media." Already, digital marketing is expected to account for more than half the company's marketing budget in 2014.

Last year, SodaStream was stopped at the Super Bowl stadium gate with an ad taking on Coke and Pepsi. This year, the maker of a home carbonation system will return to do it again. The message is that SodaStream helps the environment by saving bottles, while Big Soda proliferates garbage and waste. SodaStream International CEO Daniel Birnbaum: "I hope that [Fox] will be a little more courageous than CBS, because CBS's behavior was just pathetic." The stifled ad has garnered over 4.9 million views on YouTube.