Pfizer’s somewhat comedic COVID-19 booster ad starring Martha Stewart is a departure from its previous conservative vaccine commercials. "The goal of the spot, which is unbranded other than a Pfizer/BioNTech name flash at the end, is to get folks boosted, so it sends the viewer to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccines.gov site," per FiercePharma. "Pfizer was a big name during the pandemic with its COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty as well as the antiviral Paxlovid and clearly hopes to continue that success as the panic dies down."

A growing number of New York City’s nightlife establishments are stocking their cabinets with an opioid overdose rescue kit. "In New York City, where one resident dies from a drug overdose every three hours, opioid-related deaths continue to reach record highs, driven by swells during the COVID-19 pandemic," per Gothamist. "The sprawling effort to distribute free Narcan, the brand name for the drug naloxone, is led by the Mayor’s Office of Nightlife. It has spent the last few years piecing together how to partner with nightlife owners, promoters and workers to reduce overdoses."

Ford Motor Co. has increased the computer server capacity for its website in hopes of being better prepared for searches of its vintage truck photos. The automaker unveiled "images so rare and popular for public viewing in June that its website crashed," per USA Today. "This is all part of a massive effort by Ford to make its product history more accessible to people who love and appreciate the automotive industry and what it has contributed to the transportation revolution. The website includes brochures and advertising campaigns and depicts how car design and language have evolved."

Tesla dropped prices worldwide last week for its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in an effort to spark new demand for its cars. While still popular, the company's market share has declined from 79% of new EVs in 2020 to 65% as of September last year, according to S&P Global Mobility. "The most serious threats are coming from EVs priced below $50,000, where Tesla does not yet truly compete," according to Axios. 

Locking up products inside plastic cases to prevent stealing, retailers are "placing themselves in a bind: The more they lock up products, the more they alienate paying customers and the less inventory they sell," per Curbed. "Experts estimate that sales of a product drop 70 to 80 percent when it’s locked up since shoppers are too impatient to wait around for a sales associate. In fact, the only group that seems to be coming out on top are the manufacturers of these security devices."

"The Western District of New York has dismissed a proposed class action suit against Mondelez International, Inc. over its Lorna Doone shortbread cookies," notes Food Business News. At issue was the term "shortbread," which the suit alleged  was misleading since "the plaintiff 'believed and expected'" the term shortbread meant there was butter in the ingredients -- when there wasn't. "The court asserted the plaintiff still failed to make a compelling case that the average consumer believes shortbread cookies necessarily contain butter."

Mastercard, Visa, American Express: at checkout counters around the land, no one's playing their song. "Credit-card companies have tried to get their ‘sonic logos’—brief bursts of signature sounds—played when a sale is made at a card terminal. But old hardware, outdated software and retailer animus have slowed that" process substantially, according to The Wall Street Journal.

"High levels of a controversial chemical linked to cancer might disproportionately contaminate personal care products marketed to people of color, according to a recent report that raises new questions around equity and toxic substances," per Politico.

"At Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessey, the world’s largest luxury goods group by sales," CEO Bernard Arnault, "continues to promote his children to key posts within his empire," according to the New York Times. "Arnault, the world’s richest person, appointed his daughter, Delphine Arnault, to run Dior, LVMH’s second-largest brand." Another shuffle: "Pietro Beccari, who has been Dior chief executive since 2018, was named the chief executive of LVMH’s flagship brand, Louis Vuitton."

"Anti-abortion advocates are organizing pickets outside CVS and Walgreens in early February in at least eight cities, including Washington, D.C., in response to the companies’ plans to take advantage of the Food and Drug Administration’s decision last week allowing retail pharmacies to stock and dispense abortion pills in states where they’re legal," according to Politico. “'We want people to be uncomfortable going into a CVS that has a demonstration going on and to consider going to a different pharmacy,' said Caroline Smith, a leader of the group Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising."