BMW is investing 3 billion euros in EVs and marketing. 

AP execs outraged over government probe of phone records.

Sony is targeted for breakup by American investor.

Airbus aims to steal limelight from Boeing at upcoming Paris Air Show.

Amazon workers go on strike in Germany.

BNP Paribas eyes mobile and online banking.

Citibank says "no fees" means "never."

Coach approached Tory Burch about a deal.

Coca-Cola faces claim that Coke top-secret recipe has been found.Continue reading...

M&M’s introduced its new spokescandy during the Super Bowl Sunday evening when the bespectacled Ms. Brown, the candy brand's 70-year-old (but still looking good) CCO or Chief Chocolate Officer who made her debut in a commercial called "Just My Shell." And it was a shelluva debut indeed.

It used to be that just running a Super Bowl commercial was enough excitement for a corporation’s agency and marketing/communications teams at this time of year, but given the pre- and post-Game buzz marketing on social media that's the norm, M&M's marketers at Mars, Inc., are pulling out the stops for Ms. Brown.Continue reading...

Apple hires Dixons CEO as new retail chief, while iPad sales propel Apple to top of PC market over HP. Apple patent challenger Samsung, meanwhile, faces EU inquiry.

AT&T names new strategy officer in management shuffle.

Bang & Olufsen debuts cheaper line of high-tech gadgets.

Belstaff brings luxury leather jackets to London and New York with dual flagships.

BSKyB to start movie service rivaling Netflix.

BlackBerry-maker RIM posts corporate governance report indicating why co-CEO role was scrapped.

Carrefour names yet another CEO in turnaround struggle.Continue reading...

Fresh off a season of FOX's American Idol during which competitors made music videos for Ford weekly, were overshadowed by massive Coke bottles behind them onstage while being interviewed, and fans were encouraged to text votes on their AT&T phones, it’s hard to imagine a show more blatant in its use of product placement. But, according to Nielsen, NBC's Celebrity Apprentice actually ruled the roost on product placement on prime-time television in the month of April.Continue reading...

Well-tressed rocker Bret Michaels' new People magazine cover states, "I'm lucky to be alive." Procter & Gamble, meanwhile, is recovering from its own crisis: will one of the stars of the ‘world’s first reality hair star' contest for Pantene recover in time for the contest conclusion on May 25th?

P&G and the Poison frontman have been co-orchestrating a rebrand of Pantene, along with the whiff of possibility that Michaels would become the shampoo’s frontman as well, or at least sideman. Contestants have been vying for the opportunity to wash their hair on live TV alongside Pantene pitchwoman, Stacy London, star of TLC's What Not to Wear.

The winner will accompany Stacy to a Poison concert and be part of Michaels' entourage for the night. Included in the package are backstage passes, a ride on the rocker’s private tour bus, and first-class airfare. P&G is now betting on Michaels’ full recovery in time to shoot the commercial and participate in the event portion of the prize.Continue reading...

Last week, brandchannel reported that Kodak was relying on defending its patents to secure a cloudy future. Well, that was last week.

This week Kodak is launching a new campaign designed to reinvigorate its brand, redefining the archetypal "Kodak moment," a phrase first used in 1961 that was meant to represent a special slice of life worth capturing on Kodak film.

Only this time, the campaign suggests, "The real Kodak moment happens when you share."

Jeffrey W. Hayzlett, chief marketing officer for Kodak, tells the New York Times that the new campaign focuses on "emotional technology" and demonstrates how Kodak wants to "come back to the core of who we are."

The real issue for Kodak, of course, is that the company holds an albatross squarely around its neck: the legacy of traditional film.Continue reading...