Are you ready for some football? Big brands surely are. The National Football League may be a marketing and TV-programing juggernaut, but it is carrying more weight for more major brands than ever.

Take auto advertisers, for instance. Despite football telecasts that already were slated to be crowded with other car brands, Audi decided to use tonight's kickoff game between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys for the marketing launch of its crucial new 2013 S Models. These performance nameplates (S6, S7 and S8) and the "S" brand are fundamental for Audi to move to the next phase of its positioning in the U.S. market, as a provider of exciting, luxurious and well-designed automobiles.

And so the NFL gets the call tonight to host the first Audi ad under its new tagline, "Heighten Every Moment," featuring the Audi S8. The 60-second spot (watch it above) will run in the first break after kickoff. Audi also announced that it will appear in the Super Bowl game in February, its sixth consecutive advertising appearance in the big game.Continue reading...

When we last saw Green Bay Packers defensive star Clay Matthews, his endorsement career seemed on the right track and he was grooming a "developing sense of humor and comfort in front of the camera."

Well, then why the heck is he in trying on diapers in a Depend brand adult garments ad? It's all part of the Kimberly-Clark brand's new game plan.Continue reading...

Google taps David Beckham to promote Google+ as company grapples with social search fallout, and apologizes for Kenyan flub.

Apple's iPad 3 expected to go on sale in March with HD screen and faster chip. Apple also joined the Fair Labor Association, opening suppliers' doors to labor rights watchdog in transparency response to Foxconn fears — the first tech brand to do so.

Bentley courts Maybach fans including Jay-Z — who has just signed on as the face of (and an investor in) Duracell.

British films to be pitched as a global brand.

BT will offer free Wi-Fi at London Olympic Games.

Disney Studios quickly fills CMO position.

Dr Pepper brand name is removed from Texas town.

Easyjet fined for barring disabled passengers.

Excedrin recall expands to Canada.

Olivia Munn strips off for PETA.Continue reading...

Despite the team's many stumbles on the field over the several years, no other organization has seriously disputed the standing of the Dallas Cowboys as the unofficial "America's Team" of the National Football League — until now.

Based on the opinions of sports branding and marketing experts, licensed-merchandise sales, and other indicators, the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers are challenging to take away the Cowboys' hallowed standing as the favorite "second team" of football fans after their hometown squad. Or so says the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a hometown paper of sorts in Wisconsin.

It isn't just the fact that the Packers remain undefeated this season, at 9-0, after Monday night's laugher over the Minnesota Vikings. Or that the team based in America's tiniest NFL hometown is being led by the mid-season favorite to win the league's MVP title, quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Or that Packers linebacker Clay Matthews has become a household name through his endorsement deals with Nike Football, Suave and Muscle Milk.Continue reading...

Wikileaks spoofed Mastercard's "Priceless" campaign this week. Watch the spot below, along with new perfume commercials featuring Scarlett Johansson and Christina Aguilera, plus place branding with a twist and more.Continue reading...

In just his third year in the NFL, defensive star Clay Matthews III already has a Super Bowl championship with the Green Bay Packers. Everything is looking up for Matthews, including his endorsement appearances.

Matthews is currently starring in a Nike Football commercial where the 25 year old "blows it up," a reference to how his on-field penetration often wrecks the opposition's developing play. This is a step up for Matthews whose endorsement opportunities until until now have not been…  marquee. Continue reading...

Associated British Foods, Coca-Cola, Kraft, Premier Foods and P&G join UK waste reduction pledge.

BBC to trim World Service.

Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld goes more casual with latest runway collection.

Coca-Cola hit by Venezuela strike.

Disney cuts back at videogame division.

Egypt continues blocking Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google and Ustream as two die in Cairo protests.

Facebook beefs up security after Mark Zuckerberg's FB page was hacked.Continue reading...

With so much at stake for brands of all sorts in Super Bowl advertising, one of the biggest branding opportunities connected with the game won’t be seen in any TV commercial during the telecast on February 6 on Fox.

That would be the chance to strike a hair-care-product deal with standout Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews.

His counterpart on the Pittsburgh Steelers, Troy Polamalu, famously nabbed a marketing deal with Head & Shoulders shampoo that features the crinkly-haired all-pro safety in TV ads featuring Polamalu’s long locks – insured for a hair-curling $1 million.

Now, Matthews — whose long, straight, blond hair has earned him the nickname of “Fabio” — is openly begging for his own endorsement deal — one that will go straight to his head.Continue reading...