Twitter is having to deal with lagging growth numbers, but it does have one good thing going: its eight-month old Periscope live-video app, which agencies love. Target, BMW and Benefit have used it. But Twitter hasn't been gung ho, according to agencies, who feel like Twitter is underselling Periscope by making it simply one of Twitter's arrows in its video quiver, instead of pushing it on its own. And with Facebook Live picking up, agencies wonder if Periscope should be doing more to make itself heard.

Ann Simonds, CMO of Golden Valley-based General Mills, has been at the company for 20 years, including serving as head of the company's baking division from 2006 to 2014. "We've had to earn our consumers' trust in a different way, and I think at the heart of that is a growing mistrust in general of large institutions, public companies and other trusted authorities. Today, consumers seek real food and wellness more than science-driven health," she says. She speaks about how social media, the Internet have changed the once-staid CPG business, and how a company like General Mills can avoid the …

Pepsi recently created a 40-foot dome in which people, sprawling on couches, could experience a sonic, visual head trip ending with a stylized Pepsi logo. The lights come up, and the audience blinks back into reality. The experience was developed by Los Angeles digital animated art site Likuid Art for PepsiCo, and happened at the Voodoo Music and Arts Experience in New Orleans over Halloween weekend.

Applebee's and IHOP are joining the likes of McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King and Dairy Queen in dumping sugary drinks from the kid's menu. A rep for DineEquity, the parent company of both Applebee's and IHOP, confirmed the menu change with Consumerist on Tuesday. The soft drinks will still be available upon request for adults who choose to order them for their children.

Maybe. The banana is the world's most popular fruit, and it is in dire trouble. The fungus that has been killing the fruit for decades in Asia has, since 2013, gone global, reaching the Middle East, Africa, and Australia, per a study in the journal "PLOS Pathogens." The fungus can't be killed, so when it reaches Latin America, where three-fifths of the supply originates, the fruit could all but disappear.

More trouble for the Volkswagen Group around selling diesel-powered Porsche and Audi utility vehicles in the state of California, the largest market for Porsche and Audi. The California Air Resources Board has sent a letter notifying Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche to get going on a recall of 3.0-liter diesel vehicles, model years 2009 - 2015, sold in the state. The companies now have 45 business days or until early December to assemble their plan and deliver it to the Air Resources Board.

Supermarket chain Food Lion has selected Doner as its advertising agency of record, effective immediately. Doner succeeds Mullen as the agency of record. Terms of the contract were not disclosed, and new creative and advertising could take effect as early as the first quarter of 2016, Food Lion said. Mullen had served as Food Lion's agency since 2012.

Yes, in New York City, and other places from Nashville to San Francisco, there are great French restaurants, including new ones like Rebelle, La Gamelle and Vaucluse. But boomlet aside, they are way outnumbered by Italian, Chinese, Thai, and other cuisine. Nancy Kruse of Kruse Company and food editor Bret Thorn get into the sauce in this discussion about the fate of francophone food in the U.S.

A study based on an archive of travel data has found that airlines around the globe have been padding their flight schedules for nearly 20 years. The study, by OAG Aviation Worldwide concludes that the "block" times set aside for many flights have been growing since 1996. For example, the average allotted time for flights between Los Angeles and San Francisco increased 8% from 1996 to 2015, the study found.