Zappos.com founder Tony Hsieh has spent $350 million of his own money buying dozens of acres of property in the wasteland of North Vegas to create Containerland, his Downtown Project social experiment and urban renewal project. Much of it has been spent on shopping and entertainment venues; bringing in 60 tech startups; and funding small businesses ranging from a grocery store to art galleries in shipping containers. Does Hsieh's shoe fit Vegas?

Starbucks Corp. will lay off or reassign a "relatively small number" of employees at its Seattle headquarters, the company said Thursday. A company spokesperson declined to say how many employees will be let go or moved. The company said the positions are no longer "aligned with its growth strategy." The shuffle will take place over the next several weeks.

Although it is a major force in the development of autonomous cars, and even made 100 prototype self-driving cars, Google has no plans to mass produce them. Google program director Chris Urmson, at an appearance at the Automotive News World Congress, an industry confab in Detroit, said the company will be "Looking for a partner to build entire vehicles ... at some point."

James Harden of the Houston Rockets will be in the All-Star Game in New York in February. But a deal with Bloomingdale's also puts him in a lead-up program. He'll work with "GQ" magazine to serve as a fashion guru for fans and customers, direct people to the retailer. The chain will have 16 NBA-related pop-up sections in its Manhattan and other nationwide locations selling merchandise and memorabilia. Internet, social media and an auction support.

As it did last year, Newcastle Brown Ale is hoping to "draft" off of the Super Bowl. Last year it ran a video with actress Anna Kendrick complaining about Super Bowl spot for Newcastle that never was. This year, the company recruited "Parks & Recreation"'s Aubrey Plaza for a video slamming the entire Super Bowl advertising culture. The ad (at the jump) also asks brands to pitch in at www.newcastlebandofbrands.com to be part of a joint, mass-brand ad, an ad where "all 20 or 30 brands are crammed into it."

"Signs," a new commercial from McDonald's from Leo Burnett, is supposed to be a patriotic, group-love anthem. The ad features a montage of signs outside McDonald's restaurants across the country over several years, referring to local events and tragedies meant to tie the chain to the peeps. "We Remember 9-11," is one. The parodies include a video, at the jump, where sign messages are hacked; and comments like, "A disarming minute of corporate propaganda," from Wash Po blogger Roberto Ferdman. That's one of the polite ones.

Monday night saw the first National Championship game under the new College Football Playoff system. And with it came counterfeit merchandise. Officials from the NCAA, and the universities of Oregon and Ohio State and licensing firm College Licensing Company (which has official deals with nearly 50 brands), seized some $30,000 in unlicensed goods during the semi-finals. Still, a drop in the bucket for the $4.6 billion college-sports-licensing retail business.

Ralph Lauren's 2014 holiday ad campaign for its RRL line used an "assimilation aesthetic," in which Native Americans in what looks to be authentic 19th century daguerrotypes wore RRL attire. After a backlash, the company has apologized and removed the images from its website. "Ralph Lauren has a longstanding history in celebrating the rich history, importance and beauty of our country's Native American heritage," the company said in a statement.

After Jeep met FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne's goal of selling a million vehicles in 2014, Marchionne, who likes to make big predictions, has set another sales target: 1.9 million Jeeps by 2018. It was at this time last year - also at the Detroit auto show - that Marchionne predicted Jeep's one million units in 2014, even though the automaker was struggling with the launch of the Jeep Cherokee. Cherokee turned out to be a big hit.

If you're paying $4.5 million for 30 seconds on the Super Bowl, you'd better hedge your bets. And animals are always the best hedge. Anheuser-Busch has understood that for years, of course: a dog and a horse are the advertising equivalent of Dean and Jerry. But Go Daddy? Why not. Both brands will feature golden retriever puppies as stars in their upcoming Super Bowl commercials. Oh, and both brands' ads are about lost puppies. New competition for Animal Planet's "Puppy Bowl"?