Visa leverages Fundamo unit to boost growth in emerging markets.

Google+ opens up to all and renames group messaging app, while Hangouts API could open social video and +1 function expands to display ads.

UBS grapples with corporate culture in wake of rogue trader.

Amazon nears Kindle Library Lending service launch.

Anthem Blue Cross drops customers who pay by credit card.

Apple iPhone 5 speculation for October continues as brand beats its own American Customer Satisfaction Index performance.

Bombardier signs John Travolta as a brand ambassador.

Comcast aims to bridge digital divide with low-cost broadband plan. 

Disney plans to bring Avatar to its theme parks.Continue reading...

Special wizardry is what it will take to dominate this weekend's box office and only one of the new films has any such magic. Harry Potter's greatest magic trick? Turning enthusiasm into cold hard cash. Yet, despite being a commercial juggernaut, the Potter franchise has managed a comparative degree of critical success, in part because the films have refused to appear too commercial. That is to say, Harry Potter has avoided product placement.

But one movie opening this week is all about a brand, and it's no surprise that brand wants nothing to do with its placement. But first, our weekly Brandcameo Product Re-Placement Quiz, after the jump. Continue reading...

Toyota's swift handling of Lexus SUV issue includes safety tests on all SUVs. [NY Times | AP]

Coke kicks off Earth Month campaign. [Adweek | DMN News]

Pfizer developing Viagra-like drug for women. [ABC News]

Nike's "Masters' voice" ad the last straw in Tiger Woods' marriage? [People]

Crocs tries to shed its dowdy image. [NY Times]

P&G resumes sponsoring family-friendly prime-time TV movies. [Cincinatti Enquirer] Continue reading...

The runaway success of Avatar has television manufacturers salivating over 3-D TV in every American living room.

In the lead for multidimensional television, is Samsung Electronics with fifteen 3-D models and a commercial from James Cameron’s Avatar technical production company. The company’s 30-second premier commercial, “Dedicated to Wonder,” utilized fusion 3-D technology and Avatar’s Oscar-winning cinematographer, Mauro Fiore.

Forecasts predict consumer purchases of 3-D TV sets will reach 3.5 million to 4 million this year – ten percent of total US sales. The forecast hits a reality speed bump, however, when it comes to those pesky glasses. Unless technologies are compatible, one manufacturer’s glasses can’t be used on a competitor’s set.Continue reading...

It can be difficult to make waves in the venerable greeting-card business. The appearance of humor some decades ago might have been the biggest innovation. Not far behind in impact has been Hallmark’s far more recent move to put music clips on computer chips in cards.

Now, American Greetings – which has always played Avis to Hallmark’s Hertz in this industry – is hoping to create a new buzz for its brand with its “hi-definition lenticular” card line.

The Cleveland-based company isn’t exactly claiming that its lenticular cards will seem as sharply defined as a high-definition TV screen, nor that they’re three-dimensional per se, a popular trend now in movies with Avatar’s success.Continue reading...

For awhile now, 3D televisions have been the talk of town. Samsung's even unveiled their 3D TV’s at the annual tech event CrunchGear, attempting to woo regular Joe’s and Jane’s to fill their living rooms with 3D television sets. But before you throw out your “worthless” HD televisions and get fitted for your 3D glasses, stop and think whether the switch is worth it.

How could it not be worth it? All of the new, great entertainment out there is in 3D, like Avatar, and, well, maybe just Avatar.

That’s the point Avatar director and 3D-pioneer, James Cameron, is trying to make at least. Cameron isn’t convinced that there’s enough 3D entertainment out there to make such a purchase worthwhile for everyday television viewers.Continue reading...

A look at the good, the bad, and the ugly regarding product placements in the Oscar-nominated films of 2009. So, how did the following brandcameos fare? 

American Airlines in Up In The Air.         Belstaff in Inglorious Basterds.

BET in Precious.                                    BlackBerry in Up In The Air.

BMW in The Blind Side.                         Bristol in An Education.

Chanel in An Education.                        Chrysler Sebring in Up In The Air.

Fenton's in UP.                                     * Günther's in District 9.

Hilton in Up In The Air.                          Jujubees in Avatar.

* RDA in Avatar.                                   Red Owl in A Serious Man.

Sony in District 9.                                Stanford University in Avatar.

Taco Bell in The Blind Side.                   Under Armour in The Blind Side.

Walther in Inglorious Basterds.              "*" Fictional brand.Continue reading...

It may not have won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, but Avatar, the biggest box office smash ever, has helped to ignite interest in 3D movies. In fact, there has been a rash of 3D movies lately – and film studios are planning to release more this year.

If you watched the Academy Awards last night, you saw an ad for a 3D TV from Samsung. Now other TV manufacturers are getting ready to flood the US market with 3D televisions. Panasonic is hooking up with Best Buy, the leading electronics chain, to promote its 3D TV offering this month in 300 stores. Best Buy has agreed to show 3D videos on behalf of Panasonic in "exhibition corners" in 300 stores now, and 700 more stores by the end of 2010.Continue reading...