This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

When it comes to comparing the pick-up trucks of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and Chevrolet by General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), I can honestly say that I've owned both brands. I bought one F-150 off the showroom floor. I also bought one that was very well used. Both my Chevy Silverados were low-mileage, used models. I leased one of them from my dad and the other one I bought from my brother. I have also had opportunities to drive multiple specimens of each brand that were owned by friends or associates. I like both brands as far as their trucks go. Their cars are a story for another day.

To me, Chevy trucks always seem a bit more solid, with interior appointments a little more lush and inviting. Ford trucks seem to focus more on utility and usability within a bit roomier interior. The Chevy trucks always exhibit deep power, easily delivered upon demand. Fords trucks always seem a bit more spunky with their aggressiveness always close under foot. Chevy trucks appeal to the gentleman in me but they've always done any job I asked of them. Ford trucks appeal to the workman in me and they sometimes seem immortal.

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

My son is an Elmo addict. He has Elmo clothes, Elmo books, and Elmo toys. He insists on listening to an Elmo CD whenever he rides in my car and watches the furry Muppet almost every day on "Sesame Street." Oh yeah, he calls his binky Elmo.

And you know what? This doesn't bother me.

Sesame Street, which has been on the air for about 40 years, is still a quality show. It teaches kids the alphabet, how to count and other important lessons in an entertaining manner. The show has some aspects of Saturday Night Live to it with clever bits like having Oscar the Grouch host something called the "Grouch News Network," which featured CNN's Anderson Cooper.

I realize that his Elmo fascination won't last. My son recently discovered Mickey Mouse on one of Walt Disney Co.'s (NYSE: DIS) cable channels. Eventually, Mickey will give way to Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants on Viacom Inc.'s (NYSE: VIA) Nickelodeon.

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

Drinkers of fine coffee may turn their noses up at Folgers or Maxwell House, but these two brands have been household names for decades. And they're not the just offering plain, old coffee for the commoners anymore. They've both added a variety of coffees to their product mixes in an effort to lure more upscale (picky? elitist?) coffee drinkers to their brands.

Folgers, one of the Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) family of products, has added roasts such as Black Silk, French Roast, Gourmet Supreme, and House Blend. They've also got a line of flavored coffees that include Crème Brulee, Vanilla Biscotti, and Caramel Drizzle. You will also find instant cappuccino in French Vanilla and Mocha Chocolate flavors, and the trusty old plain instant coffee is still available. I've had it, and it's not all that bad when you're in a pinch!

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

The Nintendo Ltd. (OTC: NTDOY) Wii and Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3 were released within two weeks of each other, in November of 2006, as the latter two of the three "seventh generation" home video-game consoles, with the Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox 360, released a year earlier, being the third. Now, a year and a half later, let's review how the two gaming machines stand up to each other.

Out of the gate, the Wii was a hit. It broke sales records, led by its revolutionary controller and Wii Sports, a silly mini-game compilation that came packaged with the console. The focus of the system was more on its unique game play, which Nintendo hoped would draw casual gamers, than its intense graphics abilities. The gamble paid off, as the Wii surpassed the Xbox 360, which was released earlier, as the top-selling console in September 2007.

The PlayStation 3 had no such luck at the start. The console's strategy, like the Xbox 360's, revolved around graphics, which made the system more expensive -- $499 for the basic PS3 at launch was double the Wii's $249 launch price. Sony also decided to intertwine the fate of the console with that of the next generation DVD technology the company backed, the Blu-ray disc. However, the release of the PS3 slightly predated the high-definition craze, and so having a Blu-ray player was not an important enough selling point to help the console at launch. Another issue for the PS3 at launch was the lack of a cornerstone franchise for the system. Xbox had Halo, and Nintendo, with its deep video-game roots, had Zelda, Mario, and Metroid. Without a "must buy" game or franchise, Sony was left out, and its PlayStations stayed on the shelves.

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

While Kraft Foods Inc.'s (NYSE: KFT) Oscar Mayer brand and ConAgra Food Inc.'s (NYSE: CAG) Hebrew National may both have venerable histories, they also have very different personalities: "I wish I were and Oscar Mayer wiener" vs. "We answer to a higher authority."

In 1900, Oscar Mayer and his brothers ran one of the most popular sausage makers in Chicago. They pioneered the use of brand names and voluntary federal approval to protect the reputation of their products. The company was the first to offer packaged sliced bacon. Such innovations helped Oscar Mayer to become an industry leader. The first wiener-mobile rolled out in 1936, and its descendants can still be spotted today. The famous Oscar Mayer jingle was introduced in 1963, and today is one of the longest-running jingles still in use. In 1988 the company launched its Lunchables, prepacked cracker-and-cold-cut school lunches. Oscar Mayer became a Kraft Foods brand in 1989.

Kraft Foods is the largest U.S. food company, with $37.2 billion in sales in 2007. Oscar Mayer is one of seven Kraft Foods brands with more than $1 billion in revenue. The convenience meats category accounted for about 16% of total revenue.

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Imagine that you were only allowed to watch one sport on television for a whole year. Worse yet, imagine that you had to choose between two very popular sports all by yourself. The choice is up to you. Which will it be, NASCAR or the NFL? Will you select the gridiron wars or the need for speed? I shudder just at the thought of having to make such a life-altering choice.

On the one hand, I revel in the bone-crunching, close contact rivalries that play out every week on those hundred yard fields. The talent, the strategy, the sheer brutality of it. On the other hand, horsepower runs in my blood. The tension is palpable when watching those precisely tuned cars fighting for inches of superiority at the hands of fearless drivers. How could I choose between the pavement or the mud? How unfair would that be?

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

CVS Caremark Corp (NYSE: CVS) -- with 6,200 stores and a pharmacy benefits management division -- beats Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) -- with 5,997 stores -- hands down in the battle of the brands. It's bigger, its earnings are growing faster, it has a higher P/E and its stock has grown faster over the last year and five years. Walgreen wins on one measure: it has a fatter profit margin.

Here's how the two score on these measures:

• Revenues. $76 billion (CVS) beats $54 billion (Walgreens)
• Earnings growth. 12% (CVS) beats 6% (Walgreens)
• Profit margins. 3.8% (Walgreens) beats 3.45% (CVS)
• P/E. 21.3 (CVS) beats 17 (Walgreens)
• One year stock performance.+16% (CVS) beats -22% (Walgreens)
• Five year stock performance. +250% (CVS) beats +16% (Walgreens)

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.

Vote in our poll for CVS or Walgreens as your preferred brand, and let us know in the comments why you love it.

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When it comes to this staple of kitchens and diners worldwide, the most common question after "Is it ketchup or catsup?" has got to be "Heinz or Hunt's?"

The Hunt Brothers Fruit Packing Company was founded in 1890 by Joseph and William Hunt in Santa Clara, California. It was a small canning business on the ground of a ranch, delivered locally by horse-drawn carriage. In 1946, tomato sauce became the flagship product, and a marketing push made the little red cans familiar across the U.S., and lead to plethora of other tomato-based products, including spaghetti sauce, barbecue sauce, and, of course, ketchup.

Today Hunt's is one brand of many belonging to packaged and frozen foods giant ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) ranging from Healthy Choice to Slim Jims, from Orville Redenbacher to Egg Beaters. ConAgra reported $12 billion in sales last year.

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

"I'm like Ma Bell, I got the ill communication." -- Beastie Boys

When considering these two particular companies, it is important to note their roots as offspring of the famous "Ma Bell" network. The Bell System, which has produced the most complex ongoing series of mergers and break-ups in the history of the United States, is the origin of the companies that are now AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), as well as competitor Qwest Communications International (NYSE: Q). A lot has changed since those early times -- remember, after all, that the second "T" in AT&T stood for Telegraph. Now phones are the latest devices to be made supercomputers. AT&T has its exclusive deal with the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone, while Verizon slings the Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) BlackBerry.

Since wireless is the way of the future, the wireless divisions of these companies is the most hotly contested, and the focus of this "Battle of the Brands." It is important to note that despite Verizon Wireless bearing solely Verizon's name, it is not owned by just them, it is a 55%-45% joint venture between Verizon and Vodafone Group (NYSE: VOD). It is also important to note that AT&T Mobility is the service formerly known as Cingular, which was acquired by AT&T in 2006 when it bought BellSouth for $86B.

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In this corner, the clown. After years of taking shots to the stomach, McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) was thought to be on the ropes, but has found new life in tightened operations, successful product launches, and a new aggressiveness. It's currently in training to take on the coffee-weight champ, Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), in a no-holds-barred battle of the baristas.

In the other corner, the King. Burger King (NYSE: BKC), the burger chain with the creepiest ad campaign on television (what's with the young dude waking up to find the King in bed with him?) has thrived on a two-pronged approach; over-the-top menu items and movie/game tie-ins. BK hit the breakfast market hard with its enormous omelet sandwich, packing a wallop of 730 calories. Its Xbox game tie-in, a cheap game featuring the King was an enormous success, setting a trend that has been widely adopted.

Both chains are thriving as the third of the troika, Wendy's, continues to punch beneath its weight. With a three-year growth of almost 100% in its stock price, though, this bout clearing goes to the clown, on points.

Vote in our poll for McDonald's or Burger King as your preferred brand, and let us know in the comments why you love it.

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

The heads of CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC along with their corporate masters at Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) and General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) must be giggling with delight at the prospect of the Democratic presidential race continuing past the hotly contested race in Pennsylvania.

After all, controversy means more viewers, which of course means more advertising dollars. They probably wish that the Democrats would beat each other up in 30-second TV spots every year, but alas Americans elect a president every four years, which is probably a good thing for everybody. Still, the cable networks are going to ride this gravy train for as long as they can.

Like anything else in cable news, picking a winner in this battle of the brands depends on how you look at it. Fox, the home of Bill O'Reilly and Shepherd Smith, attracted 1.89 million viewers during Monday's prime time, the most of any network, according to Nielsen data cited by TVNewser. CNN attracted 1.03 million on its main network and 572,000 on its Headline News channel, while MSNBC was watched by 676,000.

Before conservatives start declaring Fox the top cable network yet again, remember that statistic does not represent the whole picture. Cable news advertisers are most interested in viewers aged 25 to 54 who are most likely to be interested in buying mutual funds and other products that they are shilling. That's where things get interesting.

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In the battle for "cool history," American Express (NYSE: AXP) wins this one hands down. The company was started in 1850 as an express delivery service. At the time, the U.S. Postal Service was slow and unreliable, and sending anything important or valuable was ill-advised. The American Express Company was known for its "expressmen," who delivered valuable packages all over the country, usually on horseback or with stagecoaches.

After establishing a strong reputation for delivery service, the company later decided to phase out deliveries and move into financial services. They had delivered countless documents for banks, and the money business was appealing. American Express first offered money orders in 1882, followed by travelers cheques in 1891. The travelers cheque business was the main focus of the company for many years.

In 1958, the company gave in to market pressures and issued its first charge card. For almost 30 years, though, the card was not to be used as a "credit" card. All balances were to be paid in full each month. In 1987, that changed as American Express finally issued a card that allowed revolving balances.

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Businesswise, it's no real competition between Subway and Quiznos. Subway, the number 1 sub sandwich chain, claims to have more than 29,000 locations in 86 countries, earning more than $11 billion in 2007. Quiznos, on the other hand, has more than 5,000 locations in 20 countries, earning $130 million in 2004, making it a distant number 2. In fact, Subway is the third largest fast-food chain globally after Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, etc.) with 34,000 locations and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), with 31,000 locations.

Both Subway and Quiznos are privately owned, franchise fast-food chains. While Quiznos is a limited liability company controlled by chairman Rick Schaden and his family, Subway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Doctor's Associates, Inc., a company founded in 1965 by Fred De Luca and Dr. Peter Buck specifically to oversee the Subway chain of restaurants.

Subway menus vary by store. For instance, its restaurants in Muslim countries serve Halal menu, and Subway has kosher restaurants in New York, Los Angeles, Kansas City, and a suburb of Cleveland. All locations feature submarine sandwiches, ranging from four-inch "mini subs" to its three-foot giant subs. Popular sandwiches include Turkey Breast, Italian BMT, and the Subway Club. All of Quiznos' sandwiches are served toasted, and its best-sellers include the Classic Italian, the Mesquite Chicken with Bacon, the Prime Rib Cheesesteak, the Chicken Carbonara. Last fall Quzinos introduced flatbread "sammies."

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The battle between QVC and HSN is really about celebrity entrepreneurs.

QVC counts the likes of Joan Rivers and Marie Osmond in its stable of shills. Suzanne Somers and Susan Lucci hock their wares on HSN, which is owned by Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) conglomerate.

Somewhere around the 1980s or 1990s, Rivers lost her sense of shame and began opening up about everything, including her numerous plastic surgeries. Rivers still is hysterical. Typical is a recent blog post about Passover in which she joked that people eat Matzo (unleavened bread) "Because, you pig, you inherited your mother's big, fat thighs and you should lay off the carbs for at least one day every year."

Anyway, you just gotta love Rivers. She's survived her husband's suicide, the scorn of Johnny Carson and the ridicule of celebrities on the red carpet. Granted that I won't be buying products such as the Joan Rivers Lilly of the Valley Bee Pin, which according to the QVC website "shines with orange and green epoxy enamel and cream simulated pearls as the buds."

Sounds lovely, no?

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Among the phrases that mystify me is "Too sweet" -- I was born with 28 sweet teeth. The sweetener holder in most restaurants today holds at least two different ersatz sugars; Sweet'N Low and Splenda. Which is better?

Sweet'N Low has the history. It first came on the market back in 1957 when the key ingredient, saccharin was packaged in the same single-serving sleeves used for sugar. It is still owned by the originators, privately held Cumberland Packing Group. Although the intensely sweet saccharin had been around since the start of the century, it took Sweet'N Low marketing and an increasing focus on the nation's waistline to popularize it.

The product's primary advantage is cost; a packet sells for slightly over a penny a serving. Downsides include bitterness that some users distinguish, and the inability to use it in baking and cooking, as it breaks down under heat.