The "He Gets Us" spots that have been appearing during NFL games will make an appearance during football's high holy day: the Super Bowl. "The group behind the $20 million buy of Super Bowl Jesus ads is The Servant Organization (dba ‘The Signatry’) an anodyne and until recently anonymous group," per Daily Kos. "Last November, David Green, the billionaire co-founder of Hobby Lobby, admitted to Glenn Beck that his family was helping fund the ads — along with other like-minded families."

U.S. fertility rates increased slightly in 2021 for the first time since 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "The general fertility rate in 2021 was 56.3 births per 1,000 women in the 15 to 44-year-old age range, a 1% increase over 2020 numbers," according to The Hill. The increase, although slight, follows years of declines, including a recent 4% drop between 2019 and 2020.

At Converse’s Concept Creation Center, or C4, designers work on "Chucks of the future." In most places, it takes a long time to turn ideas into a reality that can be scaled across the manufacturing process -- but Brandon Avery, Converse’s head of global innovation. is cutting that time from years to months.

With consumers obsessed over the price of a dozen eggs, could conspicuous consumption-driven influencer marketing falling out of favor? That is the question brands might be considering after the backlash that cosmetics brand Tarte is receiving after a sponsored trip to Dubai. "Influencers were called out for appearing not to know the names of the products they were promoting," per Marketing Brew. "Some criticized Tarte for what they saw as being wasteful."

Ford owners have taken to social media to gush about their front truck -- or "frunk" -- and its many uses. "While only 1/3 of EV models in the U.S. have a frunk, Ford has fully embraced this feature on its Mustang Mach-E and the F-150 Lightning," per Fast Company. "Spacious, accessible and powered, the F-150 Lightning frunk is a blank canvas for extracurricular car activities."

Volkswagen's Audi luxury brand is offering a unique concept vehicle. The autonomous Activesphere is an "extremely sleek-looking electric luxury coupe" that can transform into a pickup truck with off-roading capabilities," per The Verge. "It isn’t just a design experiment, it sits atop a modular electric drive platform that Audi is developing in collaboration with sister company Porsche that will have real-world implications for future production vehicles."

Customers who were enraged when Starbucks changed its customer loyalty program missed the tweaks that are actually to their benefit.  "The change that received the most attention was that the cost of a cup of plain hot coffee or tea would double from 50 stars to 100," per Fortune. "At first glance, Starbucks’ modification to its rewards program might be perceived as bad for consumers. But there is more to this change than meets the eye. What went less noticed is that the company is also lowering the price to get a free iced coffee or tea from 150 points …

Fans at New York Rangers games might not have access to alcohol, per a warning from James Dolan, the executive chairman of Madison Square Garden Sports Corporation. Dolan "uttered the warning while rambling his way through a Thursday-morning interview with Fox 5 after he came under fire for his use of facial recognition software to prevent certain people from entering the famous New York City venue," per amNY.

The North Face is recalling a popular clothing item in Ireland this week, due to fears of strangulation. Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission recalled a teens’ oversized hoodie that features drawstrings with free ends in the hood. The drawstrings can become trapped during routine activities that increase the risk of strangling the wearer.

Mondelez has partnered with celebrity chef Martha Stewart to release a limited-edition cookie, "The Most Oreo Oreo" with a metaverse actvation. "Created within Meta’s Horizon Worlds, 'Oreoverse' invites users to explore its Oreo-themed realm and play mini-games for the chance to win prizes, including a grand prize of $50,000.," per Marketing Dive. "To promote the activation, Stewart will livestream herself exploring the Oreoverse on the brand’s Instagram and Facebook channels."