If there are two things that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt need it’s more money and more publicity. So the pair will release their first wine from their organic 1,000-acre French estate, Chateau Miraval, next month with their names on the bottle, Bloomberg News reports.

The rosé, formerly known as “Pink Floyd,” will be labeled as Miraval and feature Pitt and Jolie’s names on the back of the bottle along with Perrin, the family that Brangelina has partnered with to help create and distribute the wine. The trio will also distribute a white later this year and reds in 2014. “We are intimately involved and quite enthused over the wine project with our friends the Perrin family,” Pitt said via his publicist.

One thing that brought Perrin and Pitt-Jolie together was the fact that both vineyards grow their vines organically, something the Perrin family has been doing since 1950. Now the Hollywood escapees are joining a long line of celebs who have extended their personal brands to alcohol brands.Continue reading...

Making history this week, President Obama finally declared his support of same-sex marriage, the first such declaration by a U.S. president. Now it's time for brands to step up and get over any aversion to showing same-sex couples in their campaigns.

Case in point: Gap’s new billboard featuring a real-life same-sex couple — Tony nominee Rory O'Malley and his boyfriend Gerold Schroeder — helps bridges the gap a little bit more between mainstream advertising and homophobic prejudice.

Featured prominently on a Los Angeles corner, the ad is part of Gap’s "Be Bright" campaign and the handsome couple are certainly a significant step in the brand’s efforts to reinvigorate lackluster sales and enlarge its customer embrace.

JCPenney, under its new "Fair and Square" tagline, continues to fight the good fight, too, facing down conservative pressure groups like One Million Moms by choosing openly gay Ellen DeGeneres as a spokesperson and recently featuring a lesbian couple and their daughter on their Mother's Day catalog.Continue reading...

ABC deals with sensitive issue of airing Marianne Gingrich interview before South Carolina GOP primary.

Aetna refreshes its "brand promise."

Apple is expected to unveil digital-textbook service today.

BP agrees to a $20-billion to $25-billion oil-spill deal with Department of Justice, report says.

Christian Louboutin celebrates 20 years of his red-soled shoes.

Citroen ad banned in the UK as seizure-inducing.

Mark Cuban, Ryan Seacrest, AEG and CAA partner on AXS cable network launch.Continue reading...

Joining Pepsi as another staple PepsiCo brand in need of renewal, Propel hopes to benefit from a zero-calorie reformulation and a new advertising campaign (starring Cindy Crawford, above) that launches today.

Just like sibling brand Pepsi, Propel enhanced water lost US market share last year – down three percentage points to 16%, according to Beverage Digest. That was the case even though Propel arguably invented the enhanced-water segment a few years ago.Continue reading...

JC Penney is as iconic as American department store brands come. Since the early 20th century, it has been a reliable source for back-to-school outfits, office uniforms, underwear, and socks – all the basics. However, few would use the term "high fashion" to characterize the brand. But if JC Penney has its way, that is going to change, and soon.

Chairman and Chief Executive Myron E. Ullman made the brand's intentions clear after the store posted very positive Q4 results: "We intend to expand our market share. This means we work to increase visits and spending from our existing customers as well as find ways to reach new ones." He added that JC Penney would not reach these new customers by further discounting, but instead by expanding its exclusive lines: "Our focus for [2010] is driving top-line growth."Continue reading...

JC Penney is still continuing to revamp with its many collaborations, this time with European fast-fashion chain Mango. Penney has weathered the recession well, recently reporting stronger-than-expected Q3 earnings, despite a comparable-store sales decrease of 4.6%, and raised its financial forecast for the full year.

The new line will be called MNG By Mango, and is set to debut next fall in 75 stores, ramping up rapidly with 600 more by Fall 2011. It is set to be Penney's largest contemporary brand, and the largest launch ever of any fast-fashion concept.

MNG by Mango will be supported with an aggressive marketing campaign to include online, digital, TV and direct mail. Recent launches for the department store have included housewares line Cindy Crawford Style and Olsenboye, from Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen, in its junior department.Continue reading...