GM abruptly ousts CMO Joel Ewanick over details of Manchester United sponsorship deal and future of GM's new Commonwealth agency relationship is questioned, while automaker also found to be making risky sub-prime loans.

Apple case against Samsung carries implications for its gripes against Google, as report says Apple discussed investing in Twitter.

Avon CEO is requested to meet with federal prosecutors.

Best Buy founder reportedly mounting a buyback effort.

Chili's touts lunch menu in new video campaign.

Coca-Cola reorganizes and ramps up marketing of Sprite to Millennials.Continue reading...

Toyota tops Interbrand's 2012 Best Global Green Brands report.

News Corp. considers splitting company in two, spinning off publishing assets, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Microsoft acquires Yammer for $1.2 billion to take on Oracle and Salesforce with new cloud-based services.

Nissan rises on fast recovery from disasters and plans $1B China auto plant as CEO Ghosn remains Japan's highest paid exec and automaker turns to Facebook to launch five new models.

Facebook names first woman to board — COO Sheryl Sandberg — and pulls so-called stalker app while creating uproar by changing all users' email addresses to facebook.com.

Google I/O news on Wednesday expected to reveal Google and Sony taking on cable and satellite operators with voice-controlled YouTube TV box, as Google prepares to battle Apple with discount tablet.Continue reading...

ESPN's new Michael Jordan commercial, above, features a different Jordan, hilariously.

Below, P&G's new Tide commercial promotes its support of US athletes at the London 2012 Olympic Games, T-Mobile spokesmodel ditches the pink dress, Planters goes nuts with Men's Health, and more new campaigns:Continue reading...

One model that caught our eye out of the Geneva Motor Show this week: Fiat is selling a limited-edition 500 model, decked out in American colors and icons. It's made in Italy, for Italians (and presumably anyone else) who might want to celebrate the fact that the Italian automaker is now selling Italian-made 500s ... in America.

And that's not all that is interesting and potentially mind-bending about the Fiat 500 America. There's also the fact that it is being sold on TwitBid, a Twitter-based auction site, to the highest bidder.Continue reading...

AOL staffers brace for more cuts.

AT&T promotes "4G" with iPhone iOS upgrade.

BBC rumored to be working on a digital download store.

DirecTV protests Dish Network's "TV Everywhere" trademark.

Facebook approved for $8 billion credit line ahead of IPO, while site debuts Twitter-like interest lists.

Fiat's Charlie Sheen commercial is winning.

Google pushes Google Wallet on developers.

Joseph Kony online protest goes viral.

Netflix enables Apple TV subscriptions.

Nike partners with Path to socialize runs.

P&G wins advertiser of the year honors at Middle East/Africa awards.Continue reading...

Sheen's Increasing Luster: Fiat USA isn't the only brand to tap Charlie Sheen for its new TV commercials. DirecTV has hired the embattled actor to star in its latest "Get rid of cable ... or you'll regret it" series of commercials, which made a splash when they debuted on Jan. 2nd during the Tournament of Roses telecast.

DirecTV's Pitch: "The spot shows what happens when your frustration with cable causes you to make unwise decisions that could lead to reenacting scenes from Platoon with Charlie in your living room."

Why Sheen?: As The Hollywood Reporter notes, "The spots are a part of Sheen's meta comeback, which has largely consisted of projects that wink — or wholeheartedly embrace — his checkered past." Sheen is slated to return to TV in June, when he will star in an FX series based on the Adam Sandler-Jack Nicholson film Anger Management, in which he'll play "an unconventional anger therapist."

Below, watch another new spot in the "Get rid of cable" campaign, which riffs on Sheen's favorite word: Winning.Continue reading...

Jennifer Lopez is no longer the face of Fiat in the U.S. — but Charlie Sheen is, at least in the new 60-second commercial for the Fiat 500 Abarth.

In the commercial, called "House Arrest," Sheen appears with Catrinel Menghia, the Romanian model from "Seduction," the first Abarth spot (now blocked in the U.S. on YouTube but you can watch another version below) that aired during the Super Bowl. More details on Sheen's involvement in the press release from Chrysler.Continue reading...

Those who regularly use Twitter [like the author], it's a regular surprise just how fast information can be designated and how that information can culture, spore, and explode with momentum. Just the same, regular users know just how banal Twitter can seem. As you eat up live updates on the #Syria feed, you realize that, instead of #Syria, #Anchorman is trending. Why? Because some basic cable channel happens to be rerunning the film Anchorman and millions are tweeting about it while watching.

Now Twitter has released a list of 2011's "Hot Topics" and it's exactly what an experienced tweeter would expect: true life and gravity (Japan's earthquake, Egyptian uprising) vs. pointlessness (Charlie Sheen's #tigerblood meme). Continue reading...