Microsoft has added SNL alum and comedian Andy Samberg to its roster of celebrity brand ambassadors in its Windows Phone holiday campaign. Check out his ad below.Continue reading...

It's no secret that Adam Sandler movies are product placement productions. We have noted the comedian's mastery of the form numerous times on Brandchannel and even gave him one of our Brandcameo Product Placement Awards for his Dunkin' Donuts inclusion in Jack & Jill.

But his latest film, That's My Boy, is far and away his boldest brandstravaganza to date. One might even call it a revolution in Hollywood's relationship with product placement, because Sandler has basically made a 114 minute long commercial for Budweiser.

To demonstrate just how unbelievably pervasive Budweiser is in Sandler's new film, one need look no further than the trailer (top). Below, a few screenshots from the trailer to better capture the King of Beers Product Placement. (Warning: A few images potentially NSFW):Continue reading...

Things will be a little different at the 2014 Super Bowl. The main difference is that it will be cold. Viewers will likely see the breath of players on the field. The gloved applause of thousands will sound like a muted herd of cattle rampaging.

It marks the first time a Super Bowl has been in an open-air cold-weather stadium. The logo for the big game, unveiled at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, signifies the potential chill at the event by sticking a snowflake right at the center. The dominant image of the logo, at right, is of the George Washington Bridge, which connects New York and New Jersey, where the game will be played.

“We are going to be completely up front from day one about the weather,” said host committee CEO Alfred Kelly, according to the Newark Star-Ledger.

“It’s going to be February in New Jersey when that game is played. It’s likely to be cold. It’s likely to have snow or remnants of snow or threats of snow and we thought it would be both fun and direct to put the snowflake right into our major symbol.”Continue reading...

Amazon wins British top brand survey; and expands deal with FOX to stream TV shows and movies as the News Corp.-owned network gambles $50 million on Terra Nova series.

Apple dips on the back of JPMorgan's back-and-forth reports on iPad output.

Barnes & Noble will receive Borders customer list by end of October.

Berkshire Hathaway moves toward massive repurchase of its own shares, underscoring dilemma for companies – and investors like its chief, Warren Buffett —about what to do with their cash.

China's ‘Facebook’ (RenRen) buys Chinese YouTube (56.com).

Coca-Cola CEO sees U.S. becoming less business-friendly than China.Continue reading...

Celebrating the upcoming release of Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray, George Lucas via his Lucasfilm studio is collaborating with the non-profit Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) on the aptly titled "Use The Force For Good." Of course, "good" means driving donations to the Stand Up To Cancer website, where all proceeds go to cancer research.

Any celebrities promoting this? Only Aziz Ansari, Zach Galifianakis, Bill Hader, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong, Jaime King, Seth Rogen, Andy Samberg, Emma Stone and even Star Wars alum Samuel L. Jackson. In the video, they each "Use the Force for Good" as they reenact classic Star Wars scenes to raise awareness, and funds, for cancer research.Continue reading...

ROKK Vodka, the freeze-filtered Swedish brand, proved its inclusive marketing by sponsoring the 22nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards in March in New York.

With a tagline of "Filtering out inequality," ROKK rolled out a blue carpet for paparazzi portion of the event, and encouraged presenters and winners to incorporate "ROKK Vodka" into their speeches that evening in return for a charitable contribution from the brand — raising $10,000 in New York alone.Continue reading...

Trending on YouTube today is the latest digital short from NBC's Saturday Night Live: Jack Sparrow by The Lonely Island. Uploaded just 2 days ago, and with almost 3 million hits already, it’s safe to say The Lonely Island knows how to produce a hit.Continue reading...