The fight against AIDS is on track to achieve the first AIDS-free generation by 2015.

Tomorrow celebrates the 23rd World AIDS Day. Since its beginning in 1988, 30 million people have died from the disease and 2.5 million children younger than 15 are living with HIV. But in four years, the world can realize the end of HIV transmission from mothers to babies delivering a key milestone for the beginning of the end of AIDS.

Major brands are continuing their support with limited edition (RED) products to help raise funds for the charity.

Apple is selling a (RED) iPad and iPod Nano; Nike a (RED) collection including trainers, a destroyer jacket and backpack; Gap is selling a t-shirt by French fashion designer Isabel Marant; Lauren Bush's FEED project created a tote bag; and Converse made 500 pairs of (RED) Chuck Taylor All Star shoes with the ‘Ephemeral Pitches, and Notes, Rhythm and Phonetics’ print design from José Parlá.

For the third year in a row, Starbucks will make “your handcrafted beverage an agent of change. They will be turning all handcrafted beverages (RED) on World AIDS Day, December 1st, across the US & Canada, making a five cent donation on every handcrafted beverage sold."Continue reading...

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Belvedere Vodka is going red. The premium vodka brand unveiled its new (Belvedere)RED special-edition bottle at a star-studded pre-Grammy party in Hollywood, featuring a performance by Usher, Belvedere’s spokesman for the special edition.

Nothing much new about special-edition vodka or celebrity singers endorsing it, but this time, it’s for a good cause.Continue reading...

Activision puts Guitar Hero in diminished role.

AOL sees advertisers weighing politics after acquisition of Huffington Post. 

Belvedere Vodka partners with Usher.

Chrysler seeks “no-haggle” experience at dealers for new Fiat 500.

Cisco shares slip on weak outlook.

Coca-Cola grabs market share from PepsiCo in North America.

Ford kicks off social-media push for Explorer.Continue reading...

Rokk Vodka Teams Up With GLAAD

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has announced a yearlong partnership with Rokk vodka in which the Swedish brand will act as the presenting partner of the 22nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards as well as have a strong presence  at the CineGLAAD panels at the Sundance Film Festival and at GLAAD's 25th anniversary events.

Rokk's first marketing efforts when it launched in the U.S. last year were aimed at the gay community in New York City, while it recently got into branded entertainment with its Lonely Island spoof ad (above) featuring SNL's Andy Samberg, so it seems it should be a partnership that everyone can be glad about.Continue reading...

Pop-ups are hot, and we're not talking about websites.

There was a time when "pop-up" referred to the windows of additional information that popped up on websites. Increasingly, though, pop-ups mean branded stores that appear for what seems like just an instant and disappear just as quickly.

Pop-up stores have been growing in, er, pop-ularity over the past few years as retailers and product marketers look for new, breakthrough ways to make an impression on consumers. Part of the reason could be the soft economy.

They've been particularly popular in New York, where brands without a retail presence—such as Target, which doesn't have a location in Manhattan—have successfully launched limited shops in empty stores in high-traffic areas.

Target's spring 2010 tie-in with Liberty of London proved so popular, its midtown NYC pop-up (seen above) attracted celebs including Naomi Watts, and closed early when the cheery floral merchandise sold out ahead of projections.Continue reading...