Having conquered the internet, video and now launched into music, Google is moving into shopping through YouTube's new "channel gadget."

"To shorten the path to purchase and translate video views to sales, today we’re introducing a new channel gadget on YouTube that will enable consumer goods brands to connect consumers directly with retailers throughout the entire YouTube experience," Google wrote in a blog post. "This new channel gadget will enable shoppers to seamlessly move from browsing how-to videos and featured products to finding which retailers carry them, check availability, compare prices and make a purchase, all with fewer clicks than today." 

Google's first client is Unilever’s Tresemmé, which already has a robust YouTube channel in place featuring celebrities and style setters. Now users can click on the products in demo videos for purchase information, a perk that will only appear on brand channel pages.Continue reading...

ESPN apologizes for comments by commentator after NBA player announces he's gay.

Honda recalls almost 46,000 Fits in North America.

Chrysler sees profit tumble on poorly executed product launches.

Alibaba and Sina form alliance of China online businesses.

Apple files for new technology that tells whether to text or call friends.

Asos prepares marketing drive to grow global brand.

BP reviews safety after oil leak in North Sea.

Best Buy sells Europe unit back to Carphone Warehouse.

BlackBerry CEO questions future of tablets (which brand doesn't have).Continue reading...

JCPenney slashes CEO Ron Johnson's pay, woos fashionistas with store-in-store bijoux bars.

Facebook dispute over Timeline trademark will go to jury trial; faces questions about new smartphone.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk will personally guarantee car buyback values as company introduces leasing.

A&W introduces Mini Polar Swirls via Vine.

Angelina Jolie opens school in Afghanistan funded by her jewelry collection.

Apple begins production of refreshed iPhone this quarter.Continue reading...

Walmart philanthropic director Sylvia Mathews Burwell expected to be nominated Monday as Obama's budget chief.

India develops a taste for premium beer while officials approve $2 billion Diageo deal.

HSBC set for $23 billion profit as turnaround gains traction.

AB InBev takes to Twitter and newspaper ads to fight watered-down-beer charges.

AIDS drug breakthrough sees infant evidently cured through early use of virus-blocking drugs.

Alfa Romeo reboot marks tough road for Fiat.

American Airlines drops below 60,000 employees for the first time since 1987.

AOL's new Brand Group CEO Susan Lyne lays out her goals.

Asos joins brands using Twitter's Vine for short form social video marketing.Continue reading...

Moisturizing jeans? Wrangler’s Denim Spa jeans come replete with moisturizers that can last up to 15 days after your first wear and then fashionistas can purchase a spray formula to maintain the silky-smoothness for 97 more wearings.

Announced last summer, the Denim Spa jeans “come infused with an array of beauty repairs that aim to soothe and moisture skin and even rid your legs of dreaded cellulite,” according to Smart Planet.

Three skinny-leg styles with different waist cuts will be available January 28th on the Asos online shopping site, with three different finishes: aloe vera to soothe the skin, olive extract to moisturize and smooth legs to fight cellulite, and a price tag of about $140. That’s right, Wrangler claims the "Smooth Legs" jeans help fight cellulite. 

Asos describes the line as a “collection of great fitting jeans infused with cosmetic ingredients that will provide treatments for your legs as you wear them, keeping them silky smooth throughout the day.”Continue reading...

Facebook is encouraging its U.S. users to share that they've voted for an interactive map, while Twitter has set up its election page to track the #Election2012 winds of change. But it's Facebook's more visual sub-brand, theonce niche mobile photo-sharing app Instagram, that's the darling of the digital world for the 2012 U.S. presidential election cycle.

Since being snapped up by Facebook for $1 billion in April, and following its launch of an Android version of its app, the brand has grown its user base from 15 million to 80 million since January 1st, with an astonishing 4 billion photos posted this year to date. Further proof, if any is needed, that photo-sharing is hot: Coca-Cola is getting in on the game with its Happy Places app, while Twitter and Facebook are racing to improve their photo filters.

The 2012 U.S. presidential election day represents Instagram’s coming out party. Its usual feed today is replaced by a stream of voter’s ballots and related political imagery, which could exceed half a million uploads by election day's end. While encouraging its users to share their election day photos with the tag #ivoted, they are being reminded to not snap a pic of their election ballot, which could render it void in certain states. In another first, the New York Times is also featuring voters' Instagram photos on their homepage election coverage.Continue reading...

Target isn't the only retailer testing shoppable videos. British high street emporium ASOS is incorporating interactive, click-to-buy videos as part of its holiday campaign. The Asos global Christmas campaign stars model Charlotte Free (above), British singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding and American rapper and fashionista Azealia Banks, all highlighting the brand’s Christmas products.

The campaign is being promoted with the Twitter hashtag, #BestNightEver, and also ties into the ASOS glossy customer magazine. The ASOS Facebook page chimed in, "Renegade supermodel Charlotte Free has come to party at ASOS! Watch her videos, shop her style, and listen to her jamz to get ready for your Best Night Ever. Plus pin your favourite outfit whilst watching for your chance to win. Pin to Win: http://bit.ly/S7rVb2"

As Company magazine notes,

Viewers are encouraged to replicate Charlotte’s signature poses and post them to the ASOS Instagram page – tagged with #BestPoseEver – for entry into a Facebook gallery. Customers will also have the opportunity to guess Charlotte’s stocking-fillers for a chance to win the product. All activity coincides with the December issue of ASOS magazine, with Charlotte holding the cover star position.Continue reading...

Apple strikes pre-paid iPhone deal with Cricket as Foxconn woes continue.

BMW creates department-store feel at concept showroom in Paris.

BP reveals internal discord over oil spill estimates, and plans to sell stake in Russian venture.

Chrysler misses May sales target despite U.S. sales bump.

Corona invests in major outdoor and digital campaign for summer.

Disney names new film studio chairman.

Exxon Mobil plans major U.S. chemical plant.

Facebook sells "likes" in promoted posts move, and adds admin functions and post scheduling.

Formula One IPO may be delayed.Continue reading...