Somewhere, a world exists where more people have access to smartphones than toilets. Oh, wait. That's us.

Today marks the 20th annual World Water Day, observed on March 22 since 1993 when the United Nations General Assembly declared a global effort to improve access to clean water. Today, hundreds of multinational brands, political figures, celebrities and NGO's are offering up innovative ways to participate. 

While Americans are drinking more water than ever before, the rest of the world's water crisis is becoming increasingly pressing, making it to the agenda of the 2012 World Economic Forum in Davos. That's when a report ranked water among the top five global factors equal in impact to systemic financial failure and fiscal imbalance, with 2.7 billion people affected by water shortages, compounded by climate change and a global population nearing 8 billion.

Two official meetings—in The Hague, The Netherlands and at the U.N. Headquarters in New York City—are taking place today to facilitate a global conversation on water cooperation, this year's theme, but hundreds of initiatives have launched across the globe in support of the effort.

In keeping with the theme of 2013 being the year of water cooperations, we've found some inspiring examples of the type of public-private partnerships spurring sustainable innovation to address the world's water crisis.Continue reading...

Adobe buys Behance for its design community.

Hostess Brands holds out for meaningful offers.

Quaker Oats readies Quaker Up campaign in US.

ABC leads America's late-night TV ratings with Nightline but loses Jake Tapper to CNN.

Absolut Vodka looks to Cirque du Soleil for inspiration.

American Airlines and US Airways sketch out how merger would affect pilots.

BAE strikes $4-billion deal with Oman.Continue reading...

Film: Madagascar 3 (DreamWorks Animation)
Total Products Spotted: 8
Standout Placement: Cirque du Soleil (by implication)
Most Memorable Placement (positive): Ducati
Most Memorable Placement (negative): HP
Other Product Placements: Airbus, Central Park Zoo, Duane Reade, Ferrari, New York Knicks, Central Park Zoo
Overall Product Placement Integration Grade (1-10): 4
Comments: There are some odd observations to be made about the products and brand names found in Madagascar 3. Most odd is that the most obvious brandcameo (Cirque du Soleil), while explicitly hinted at, is never mentioned by name — even though knowledge of that name is assumed of the audience.Continue reading...

Pepsi has announced an exclusive global partnership with Michael Jackson’s Estate as part of its new "Live for Now" campaign, PepsiCo’s global platform to re-engage teens via pop music and culture influencers including Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry, whose upcoming movie the brand is sponsoring.

The deal coincides with brand's legacy with the King of Pop and the 25th anniversary of Jackson's multi-platinum Bad album (released August 31, 1987) and record-breaking tour, and Pepsi and Sony Music will share new mixes, as well as one billion — that's right, billion — special edition Michael Jackson Bad 25 Pepsi limited edition cans with an iconic silhouette of Jackson, as you can see below.Continue reading...

After Whitney Houston’s unfortunate death last Saturday, anyone turning on a TV or radio got to hear her signature tune, “I Will Always Love You,” countless times, whether it was Jennifer Hudson singing it on the Grammys or Amber Riley performing it, apparently coincidentally, on the Valentine’s Day episode of Glee on FOX.

Of course Houston had a slew of other massive hits, such as “How Will I Know,” “The Greatest Love of All,” and “I Want to Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me),” but the fact that one tune kept spilling out of the speakers over and over again didn’t speak well of her brand’s ability to stick around for generations to come.

Metro reports that Houston, whose funeral is taking place on Saturday (with a live-stream for fans via the Associated Press), has a chance to “have a legacy that can outlive our collective memory of her somewhat tainted past” of drug and alcohol abuse. That legacy may lie in the hands of marketing pros “who specialize in the act of ‘sanitizing’ the image of a deceased celebrity."Continue reading...

Arnold Palmer re-brands for a generation who never knew the golfing legend.

Audiovox rebrands to Voxx International.

BlackBerry-maker RIM warns about profit outlook.

BMW and Mercedes-Benz race to the wire for 2011 luxury-sales crown in U.S.

Boeing takes its Dreamliner on a "world tour."

Chick-fil-A spat with t-shirt maker hits the New York Times.

Corona brings beach experience to London.Continue reading...

Cirque du Soleil-inspired flights of fashion are shipping to Desigual stores this week, as the Spanish sportswear brand brings its first official Cirque du Soleil fashion collection to its 8,000 stores in time for the holidays.

Check out some designs from the 60-item collection of clothing and accessories for men, women and children below, along with a video explaining the partnership, which was announced in June and also includes a small collection of Desigual designs for Cirque's e-boutique.Continue reading...

Trending on YouTube with over 66,000 views and counting is a tribute to Michael Jackson. But it's not just any tribute - if you're going to perform Michael Jackson, you better make sure you can take it on and have it be as spectacular as if Jackson himself was performing. Who better than the Cirque du Soleil employees?

The video features the employees performing Michael Jackson's "They Don't Care About Us," lead by choreographer Travis Payne. Taking place in Montréal, on a cold October evening, they turned this performance into a street performance, with the employees and artists from their various shows.Continue reading...