AT&T risks customer defections with higher data pricing.

Baskin-Robbins utilizes coquettish voice of Mad Men's Christina Hendricks.

David Beckham, happily back with LA Galaxy, mulls becoming Major League Soccer franchise owner.

Carnival suspends some cruise marketing in wake of Italian shipwreck.

Chevrolet launches Game Time App for "immersive" Super Bowl marketing experience.

Fox makes American Idol available by VOD as first-week ratings dip.

GM claims 2011 global sales crown (incl. record for Chevrolet) but sparks dust-up over tally.Continue reading...

Charlie Sheen attracts 500 new followers per second as he gets ready to bring the crazy to Twitter. Update: he tweeted! And uploaded a twitpic in his first tweet, no less. No word on how Naked Juice and Broguiere's Farm Fresh Dairy chocolate milk feel about being Sheen's "choose your vice" stand-ins.

In other celebranding news:

Bono swoops in to address Spider-Man on Broadway woes.

Bristol Palin is writing a book.

Christina Hendricks pitches Vivienne Westwood.

Emma Watson used as lure for Facebook "clickjacking" scam.Continue reading...

Comcast's acquisition of NBC Universal is approved (with one FCC commissioner, Michael Copps, opposed). Conditions for the deal, expected to close by Feb. 1, include that Comcast must give up its management role at Hulu, and abide by anti-favoritism clause — a victory for Bloomberg TV and other networks that compete with Comcast and NBCU's channels. Comcast, separately, just invested $10M in Snagfilms, an ad-supported documentary site that owns INDIEwire, and led a $9M financing round in e-publishing consultancy Perfect Market.

Apple announces record quarterly earnings of $6B, with 7 million iPads sold during the Christmas quarter. The iPhone is now the UK's "most desirable" brand.

Citigroup "disappoints" despite quarterly profit of $1.3 billion.Continue reading...

New Winter Wonderland of Alcoholic Whipped Cream

The holiday spirit is often helped along with alcoholic spirits, from booze-soaked fruitcake to hot buttered rum. Now even your most innocent of holiday desserts (pumpkin pie, anyone?) can go from nice to a little bit naughty with the addition of alcoholic whipped cream. Two brands have been released in recent months: CREAM (“Get Whipped”) and Whipped Lighting (sold as Whipahol). Both are selling well.

Coming in the wake of the Four Loko debacle, apparently some college officials are concerned about the trend, but we really don't think they should be getting their silver bells in a bunch. While both brands contain an alcohol content of 15%, about the same alcohol as three beers, that's if you consume the whole can. Probably more danger here of the dreaded "freshman 15" weight gain than of alcohol abuse.

After the jump: Ciroc and P. Diddy, Johnnie Walker takes Manhattan, and some festive red noses at the pub.Continue reading...

This Friday, October 22, Lancome is hosting a one-day fundraiser — which it's calling Genes Day — for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in New York.

The L'Oreal-owned brand will donate $7 from every $78 bottle of Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate sold on its website or in-store. It's also giving away free seven-day samples at retail partners' beauty counters to help first-timers try before they buy, and take the plunge for a good cause.

Lancome has pledged a minimum of $100,000 to St. Jude, the only pediatric cancer research center in America where children are never denied treatment because their family cannot pay or lacks insurance.Continue reading...