Procter & Gamble executives said they are cutting deeper into the company brand roster than they had expected to. They said on Feb. 19 that they hope to have deals to sell off most of 100 brands they're targeting for divestiture by summer. P&G chief financial officer Jon Moeller told Wall Street analysts the impact of total divestitures will reduce the company's annual sales by 14%, up from a previous figure of 10%.

NASCAR is on the straightaway and kicking the speed up a notch. Television is a big part, starting with a combined $8.2 billion TV rights program with both NBC and Fox . Said NASCAR COO and former Chevrolet marketer Brent Dewar, "We're seeing momentum...whether it be the number of fans engaging in the sport, through all the different mediums from broadcast to digital to social media, and we're also seeing more sponsors in the sport today than we've ever had before."

At the National Confectioners Association's (NCA) 2015 State of the Industry Conference, analyst Todd Hale and NCA VP of industry affairs Larry Wilson said 30% of people now report buying candy online, up from 24% in 2014 and 21% in 2013. They are going after what they want that they don't find on local store shelves, Wilson said. "They're looking for specialty items." Growth drivers are new items that aren't just line extensions; premium products and hybrid branding.

Google Technology Holdings was awarded a patent last week for an "odor removal device" that contains an automatic fragrance emitter that can "learn" our habits and combat body odor. The small fan-like device seems to be an amalgamation of an automatic air freshener and a wearable device. Hopefully it does not connect to the social web. It does, however, have a communications network that allows users to avoid acquaintances.

Chairman-CEO of burger chain Jack in the Box, Len Comma, told an analyst during today's quarterly earnings conference call that he was surprised as everyone that store sales were up 3.9% for the quarter ended Jan. 18, and that Q2 sales are looking even better. The company had responded to criticisms of its burgers with new sandwiches that have caught on. The company says its new Buttery Jack burgers is its best-selling new product ever.

Cadillac has moved to New York, and its new ad campaign, and brand direction, is West Side observational cinema. A 90-second ad to launch on the Oscars broadcast Sunday, shows real street scenes from the district where Cadillac now resides - the far west end near 14th Street - as a voiceover quotes Teddy Roosevelt, leading up to the tag, "Dare Greatly." Nary a Cadillac is shown. But other ads for the brand planned for Sunday will show its cars. Publicis Worldwide did the ads.

Real estate lister Zillow has officially acquired competitor Trulia in a stock-for-stock transaction valued at $2.5 billion. When Zillow first announced its intentions to take over Trulia, the stock price still valued the transaction at $3.5 billion. The merger meant 350 employees were laid off in San Francisco and Bellevue, Wash., because of redundancy of function, per Zillow. The two companies have about 2,000 employees between them.

The Sierra Club and Americans for Prosperity, the political action group funded by the Koch brothers, are both signatories on a letter to U.S. governors and legislators in support of the electric-car maker Tesla's efforts to be able to sell cars without enlisting independent franchised dealers. The public-interest groups' letter, released today, argues that existing franchise laws shackle innovation. "Tesla's market entry through direct distribution is providing consumers with beneficial new choices on what vehicles they buy and how they buy them," the group said.

Rents are rising, and in urban areas it is now unaffordable to young professionals. Ironically, that makes ownership an option, given historically low interest rates. Real estate website Zillow predicts these factors will help Millennials top Gen X as the largest group of home buyers this year. More than half of 18- to 34-year-olds said they plan to buy a house in the next one to five years, according to a survey by the company.

Mattel and Google are partnering on a major, digitally powered update of the classic ViewMaster. While the 75-year-old device let you click through circular slide disks, the new one lets you insert a smartphone into a headset. An app for the phone lets viewers get an immersive experience of just about anything. Mattel and Google unveiled the virtual reality viewer last week. The first versions will be available in the fall.