New and notable in the advertising world

— -- Food for thought.

The Ad Team has noticed a spate of not-so-good-for-you foods trying to play up their "natural" side in recent ads. For instance:

•A print ad for Frito-Lay's Fritos shows the chips neatly lined up as kernels on an ear of corn. Says the copy: "3 simple ingredients. Corn. All natural oils. And a dash of salt."

•A Pepperidge Farm print ad boasts "real fruit baked into light, flaky cookies." It shows a bushel of fresh fruit next to a picture of three cookies.

•Print and online promotions for Hellmann's mayonnaise's "real" ingredients: eggs, oil and vinegar.

•Outdoor ads with oversize McDonald's burgers above the line: "100% beef."

We think this wholesome approach is a bit much for these products. What's your take?

Makes us misty-eyed.

Johnson's may have taken the tears out of baby shampoo — but it put them into its "Thanks, Mom" Olympic ads. The baby care company, a unit of global Olympic sponsor Johnson & Johnson jnj, is running heart-tugging ads that show Olympic athletes sharing unscripted stories about how their moms helped shape their lives. Among those featured: U.S. track and field star Shalane Flanagan; triathletes Sarah Haskins and Jarrod Shoemaker; and swimmer Cullen Jones.

The campaign will run online at baby.com/thanksmom, as well as on NBC Universal's broadcast and cable networks during the Games.

Gobbling up resources.

Tofurky, the tofu meat alternative, has concocted a plan to not only save animals' lives, but also to save the world from global warming: "Tofurky Tuesdays."

You go to Tofurky.com and pledge to go meat-free one day a week — preferably Tuesdays. In exchange, you'll get information and two free magazines on vegetarian eating. Tofurky maker Turtle Island Foods and the Humane Society of the United States are co-sponsors.

Their thinking: It takes a lot of energy to raise and transport animals for food. By Tofurky's math, the greenhouse gas emissions saved by going meatless one day a week equal those of driving a 20-mile-per-gallon car for 16.5 miles.

Joining the party.

Sure, Pepsi will get free exposure when the Democratic National Convention takes place Aug. 25-28 in Denver's Pepsi Center. And yes, Invesco will share the spotlight when Barak Obama give his acceptance speech at Invesco Field at Mile High.

But that doesn't mean small-scale businesses won't get a piece of the action with the Democrats in town. Two examples:

•The Cry Baby Ranch:The retailer in Denver's historic Larimer Square district expects to sell wagonloads of Western wear, from $38 Western scarves (for women) to $400 boots (for men). Owner Roxanne Thurman also plans to unload a bunch of Colorado-made glass cowboy hat paperweights — at $58 each.

•Chipotle:In Denver 15 years ago this summer, Steve Ells opened the first Chipotle Mexican Grill. Convention attendees can grab a piece of Chipotle history by visiting that first store on Evans Avenue near the University of Denver and buying a $10 "I've Been to Evans" T-shirt — sold only at that store.

By Laura Petrecca, Bruce Horovitz and Theresa Howard