Retail Briefs

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. moved up the date of its holiday advertising campaign to Nov. 1.

The campaign consists of a multi-media barrage integrated across all channels and in-store signage. The blitz features celebrities such as Garth Brooks, Queen Latifah and Destiny's Child.

The full holiday campaign will feature six 30-second television spots and one 60-second spot, which will run on network and national cable stations and in national syndication and local markets, as well as a two-minute video for video-on-demand, which will be run by various cable providers. Four print ads are set to run in November and December magazines including InStyle, O, Entertainment Weekly, Redbook, People and Us Weekly.

Pottery Barn hopes to be a how-to destination for holiday — and everyday — decorating and entertaining with its new “Style House” online magazine, which launched last week.

Linked to the Pottery Barn store's Web site, the magazine can be found at www.potterybarn.com/stylehouse and boasts “the latest in decorating and entertaining solutions, as well as home style trends.”

This initial issue offers customers tips on how to create a silver Eucalyptus garland, tell a story with oversized picture frames and concoct a “Berry Merry Christmas” champagne cocktail, among dozens of other holiday and everyday decorating and entertaining-related pointers.

Ikea, having celebrated its 20th birthday in the United States last month, will open its first Massachusetts store in Stoughton, on Nov. 9.

The 346,000 square-foot store features nearly 10,000 exclusively designed home furnishings and accessories and employs approximately 500. The store will also present more than 50 room-setting displays and three model homes that represent a variety of living situations.