America

Kiehl's, the skincare and haircare retailer, sent a custom Captain America comic book to Wall Street Journal subscribers in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco on Thursday as part of a content marketing effort meant to help the company better connect with men. Marketers in general have increasingly been trying to win consumers’ attention and interest with branded content. PepsiCo Americas Beverages, in another example, hired Complex Media earlier this year to build a site at Green-Label.com and pack it with content for the coming year.

Toys 'R' Us is gearing up for Halloween, which includes a raft of licensed character costumes, in-store sales, online promotions and an in-store events. Licensed character costumes hitting the shelves this year include Disney Baby costumes such as monkey, dinosaur, monster and skunk; toddler costumes that include Disney*Pixar Cars 2 characters Lightning McQueen, Mater and Finn McMissle; Captain America, Transformers, Green Lantern, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and Super Mario Brothers costumes for boys; and Rapunzel and Monster High costumes for girls. In addition, Toys 'R' Us will feature spooktiques in stores nationwide throughout September and October. The displays