Toys 'R Us is launching holiday marketing initiatives along with the news that its stores will open at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, and will remain open through 11 p.m. The chain is also launching store-specific maps. Customers can use their smartphone to scan a QR code on a navigational store layout sign, which lets them search for products by name and pinpoint their in-aisle location. In-store associates, called "G.P.S." (Gurus for Play Stuff) will provide advice and assistance to shoppers beginning on Thanksgiving.

Nike informally severed ties with Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson after his plea agreement to a misdemeanor assault charge over the whipping of his 4-year-old son. Now it's official. Peterson was fined $4,000 on Nov. 4 by a Texas state judge and ordered to perform 80 hours of community service after he pleaded no contest to reckless assault. He will serve no jail time.

Although almost 50% of consumers have fallen victim to at least one data breach and 45% say they are not confident they know when, most haven't adapted. Forty-eight percent of respondents to a survey admit to shopping online on a weekly basis. While respondents rated security expectations high for activities like online banking and mobile transactions, security expectations for online shopping were low.

Paramount Citrus Coop in Delano, Calif., is putting $20 million behind its Halos boxed Mandarin oranges. The "Wonderful Halos" brand launched last year with an industry-record $100 million, five -ear commitment with $20 million spent the first year. Wonderful Halos is part of Wonderful Brands, which includes "Wonderful Pistachios," "Wonderful Almonds," "Wonderful Almond Accents" and "Pom Wonderful."

R.J. de Vera, officially "leader of the customer engagement group" at the car-care brand Meguiar's Inc., helped transmute the SoCal Japanese import tuner craze to industry aftermarket gold in the 2000s. De Vera, a trend predictor, consultant, buff-book editor, designer, and customizer, says that while 20-somethings may be lukewarm about autos, pre-teens are really into cars. "They know exactly, specifically, what car it is and they know the specs. It's crazy. It's happening all the time."

Victoria's Secret changed its "Perfect Body" slogan last week following a backlash driven by a Change.org petition. The store's original ad displayed the words "Perfect Body" superimposed on an image of 10 tall, skinny, mostly white women in lingerie. The petition, garnering tens of thousands of signatures, demanded an apology and an amendment of the line, claiming the campaign promoted "unhealthy and unrealistic standards of beauty."

Kohl's, which is investing more on TV this year, has launched its holiday campaign with an ad focusing on how a father-and-son moment highlights the season's spirit. "This year, we really wanted to break through and have a strong commitment to the spot that we know will touch millions of hearts," said Nancy Carruth, senior VP of brand creative at Kohl's. The company's strategy is to focus ads on shows like NBC's "The Voice," holiday specials like "A Charlie Brown Christmas," and Disney for a promotion during the American Music Awards .

The redoubtable banner ad is entering its third decade, but how long will it stay around? Google has announced full-screen mobile ads, and Facebook is developing full-screen mobile formats. Combined, both companies have two-thirds of the global mobile advertising market. If the banner ad's days are numbers, full-screen formats are part of the reason why.

A Turkish cosmetics company says it didn't know that the hirsute man in its ad for a hair removal product was Khalid S. Mohammed. The ad, in Turkish, reads, "The hair will not go away because you keep waiting!" The slogan is accompanied by a photo of the Pakistani former al-Qaeda leader now in U.S. military custody. "We didn't know that he was a terrorist. The guy is quite hairy, so we thought his body was a good fit for our ad," a spokesperson said.

BMW AG and Toyota Motor Corp. are moving toward developing sports cars together. Cooperation on the underpinnings of the vehicles "has moved on to the concept phase and is running according to plan," BMW said in a statement Thursday. The companies starting studying the viability of the JV in early 2013. The midsize model is the most visible project within a broader partnership the manufacturers have said will last until at least 2020.