Toyota teams with Marvel for a Yaris viral video, above.

Ford hooks up with the 2012 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue for product placement.

The king(size) Snickers bar is dead. Make way for the fun size.

Below: Coke and ScarJo, Will Ferrell, Jeremy Linsanity and more.Continue reading...

To mark its 50th anniversary, Amnesty International TV launches AmnestyTV on Friday July 15th: a dedicated YouTube channel offering a mix of human rights news and comedy (we kid you not), a hybrid approach designed to appeal to the up and coming generation of social activists.

The 15-minute, biweekly (it will run every other Friday) magazine-style show describes itself as '50% Newsnight, 50% Modern Toss' (a tagline non-Brits may not appreciate) with a mix of hard-hitting satire, campaign stunts, short documentaries, outspoken opinion and real news.Continue reading...

Among the most-shared videos on YouTube this week — a cooking demo by celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse's attorney, Mark Stein, for Philadelphia Cooking Creme. Looks like Kraft's "huge marketing campaign" to support the Philly Creme Cheese spin-off's launch has paid off.

After the jump: some deliberately slow-loading viral videos, and the trending Megan Fox for Armani spot.Continue reading...

With the launch of its latest ad unit, “Sponsored Stories,” Facebook is turning users' in-network activities — status updates, Places check-ins, Likes, app activity — into advertisements. 

Mark Zuckerberg’s biggest challenge remains how to monetize advertising in a non-intrusive way. “Sponsored Stories” is a euphemism for a digital transformation from information-based to social-based advertising.

“We’re moving from the ‘wisdom of crowds’ to the ‘wisdom of friends,’” says Facebook executive Dan Rose of the new ad format.Continue reading...