While virtual reality and other digital experiences were still in evidence all around Comic-Con, three of this year's most talked-about offsite marketing "experiences" - The Blade Runner 2049 Experience, the Mr. Robot Experience, and the Westworld Experience - depended in whole or in part on physically constructed environments populated by actors rather than computer-generated simulations.

Avon is the newest sponsor of the 16th season of "Project Runway," kicking off on Lifetime on Aug. 17: The beauty sponsor will provide the makeup for the season. Tim Gunn announced the news during a surprise appearance at the beauty giant's RepFest convention in Nashville, Tenn. The brand will release behind-the-scenes content from makeup artist Hector Simancas and other Avon representatives on the brand's social channels.

Fictional characters have long been deployed to sell everything including whipped topping, whisper-soft toilet tissue and washing machines, and for good reason. "They're a really efficient way to create a personality for your brand," said Britt Nolan, the chief creative officer at Leo Burnett U.S. "When a brand wants the world to know what it stands for and what it stands against, a character is an easily accessible image to tap into."

A recent patent filing suggests new ways Walmart wants to get even closer to its customers: a video system that keeps tabs on customers' facial expressions as they move through the store and the movements at checkout lines. The system apparently envisions using video to scan for customers who are frustrated or unhappy so help can be dispatched.

Federal regulators issued a sternly worded letter to fertility doctor John Zhang, who helped a mother with a genetic disorder give birth to a healthy baby boy by using a procedure that combines DNA from her, her husband and an egg donor. The embryo was created in New York, where Zhang's company is based, and was taken to Mexico, where it was implanted in the mother. The FDA says that's not allowed.

Samsung 837 is an experience space like no other. Part store, part event venue, part glimpse into the future, 837 is the brand's headquarters for trying out cutting edge tech, checking out products or just snapping some selfies. Besides trying on VR headsets or using the 360-degree camera, consumers can attend brand-partnered events such as with Netflix.

Calling it the company's "largest-ever investment in North American soccer," Adidas has signed a six-year extension to its current deal with Major League Soccer. The alliance, which dates back to the league's inception in 1996, now runs through 2024. Financial terms were not shared. Industry analysts put the value of the extension at $700 million.

On this day, it was a pair of limited PSNY x Air Jordan 12s, dressed in a wheat brown color from top to sole. About a week earlier, Nike had teased the release of the shoe and alerted patrons that they'd only be available through its new Nike+ SNKRS app in a specific location at a specific time of day. There was no other way to get it. You had to either be in one of three designated locations when the shoe dropped or you were out of luck.

For the third straight year, L.L.Bean has beat out Amazon in a customer service ranking. The outdoor outfitter came out on top in Prosper Insights & Analytics' annual review of service excellence among retailers, with Amazon a close second. Rounding out the top five; Lands' End, Fingerhut, and Kohl's.

Food companies are clashing over how to tell people about what is in their products. The Food and Drug Administration said in June it would grant industry requests for more time to add new nutritional information to product labels. But some companies, citing the need to be transparent, are not happy about the the delay. Campbell Soup Co. said it would leave the Grocery Manufacturing Association, which is in favor of a rule delay.