This Bud's for you. Unless you're in the European Union. In that case, this Budvar is for you.

After a decade and a half battle to trademark the Budweiser brand in European Union, the European Court of Justice has ruled against the AB InBev's "King of Beers" and in favor of its Czech challenger Budvar. Adding insult to injury, AB InBev was ordered to pay Budvar's legal fees.

The Budvar beer brand, headquartered in České Budějovice, may now freely and without concern continue to distribute its brew, known as "Budweiser Budvar," throughout Europe. AB InBev, meanwhile, is wondering what to do next.Continue reading...

Ingestion is digestion, Wegman’s figures, so the East Coast U.S. retailer is trying to make healthy choices easier for its customers by displaying healthy-food options from its supermarkets right next to its pharmacies.

The Rochester, N.Y.-based supermarket chain long has had a reputation for innovation in healthful consumption, and for educating its customers.

Now, it's echoing its tagline (Eat Well, Live Well) by establishing "Eat Well, Live Well" stations near its pharmacies. Each display may showcase, for example, products from Wegman’s food aisles that contain omega-3s, which boost cardiac health and brain development.Continue reading...

The Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league and sportswear giant Puma are partnering to raise funds and awareness about breast cancer. Puma is mixing up its signature red with pink for the promotion, which officially kicks off tomorrow.

That's when the Washington Freedom women's soccer team plays at Harvard, and also when a related interactive forum goes live, while Project Pink items are already available for sale online.

PUMA will outfit top players in the North American league in Project Pink kits for all five WPS matches.

A trio of players—Karina LeBlanc, goalkeeper for the Philadelphia Independence, Amy Rodriguez also of the Independence and Leslie Osborne of the Boston Breakers—are also serving as spokeswomen for the initiative.

The public can also get involved in the pro-social partnership.Continue reading...

It’s one of those shapes as iconic as a stop sign, communicating a message as primordial to our minds as the winged symbol for a hurricane or the smiley face. It’s the toothpaste nurdle.

That’s right, “nurdle” – which, if you didn’t know, is the word for a small amount of toothpaste akin to what consumers might normally squirt on a toothbrush. It's a shape that everyone recognizes, and an outline that has graced many a toothpaste package from time immemorial.

Except that’s where the agreement ends about the wave-shaped blob of toothpaste. As often happens with a symbol so powerful, folks get possessive about it. Including the world's two biggest toothpaste-makers.Continue reading...

Look at your brand and then look back at the screen. Can your commercial look like an Old Spice commercial? No. Can your commercial feel like an Old Spice commercial? Nice try, Cisco. (above)

Playboy must stop licensing. Case in point: new bunny-eared fragrances Playboy New York (even though it's based in Chicago) for men and a trio for women. We were also perplexed by Playboy's "safe-for-work" website, The Smoking Jacket. Looks like it's already finding its editorial niche: drug smugglers!

Is Toyota bringing back the Supra? Trademark filings say yes maybe.Continue reading...

British fans of Ben & Jerry's are feeling they're being frozen out by the Vermont-based ice cream maker.

The company's decision to scrap its monthly email newsletter in favor of pushing customers to engage with the brand on social media apparently has not gone over well in a market where B&J has tried to win favor with flavors such as the nod to Queen, Bohemian Raspberry.

The ensuing tsunami highlights some marketing ‘nuances’ in the new media versus old media business.

As we've noted, Ben & Jerry's has doubled down on social media, expanding its Facebook superstar status into the digital realm with a clever mobile app that recently added augmented reality.Continue reading...

Lego just released its first 3D spot for cinemas to promote its Toy Story 3 collection. Even without 3D glasses, it's worth checking out.

Pop idol Justin Timberlake isn't just making mystifying ads to promote his Tequila label. He also shot a moody campaign for William Rast, the fashion collection he created with childhood friend and business partner Trace Ayala.

Target just announced that Timberlake's line of denim, outerwear and sportswear for men and women is coming to its stores and website with a capsule collection in December. The move marks the latest in Target's limited-edition collections, which extend not only to fashion but to Cynthia Rowley-embellished diapers and Ben & Jerry's ice-cream.

Timberlake, meanwhile, isn't the only rock star/designer making a splash this week — Oasis singer Liam Gallagher is bringing his eco-friendly apparel line, Pretty Green, to London's famed Carnaby Street.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer tells analysts the company's "job one urgency" is developing a tablet to compete with the iPad.

The battle of Colgate vs Aquafresh is unfolding in a New York courtroom over the right to use a "nurdle" (toothpaste squirt) on their toothpaste packaging.

Disney is selling Miramax Films for $660 miilion to an investor group that didn't include founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein.

Citigroup will pay $75 million to the SEC to settle charges that it failed to disclose subprime exposure to investors in 2007.Continue reading...

It seems as if hotels have figured out at least one way to work around a challenging travel market -- create distinct brands that offer something different.

A North American hotel customer satisfaction report just released by J.D. Power and Associates shows that, over the past year, travelers are happier when they stay in newer boutique hotels as opposed to traditional branded hotels.Continue reading...

According to The Wall Street Journal, Goldman Sachs "is telling employees that they will no longer be able to get away with profanity in electronic messages." For those WSJ readers under 65, "electronic messages" means "email." But wait! There's more!Continue reading...