"Argo" wins Oscar for Best Picture as 85th Academy Awards widely distribute recognition among films, actors and others, while The Onion runs into critical barrage over tweet about young actress.

KFC launches campaign in China after an antibiotics scandal damaged the brand.

IKEA withdraws Swedish meatballs from store restaurants in 14 European countries on horsemeat scare.

Barnes & Noble chairman mulls buyout that could split it in two and put B&N's Nook e-reader up for sale.

BP may be closing in on a settlement as spill trial nears.

BYD targets electric-vehicle sales.

Darden warns of sales declines at its restaurant brands including Olive Garden.Continue reading...

NASCAR brand refresh thwarted by P.R. crisis and YouTube takedowns after Saturday's fan-injuring accident during Nationwide race, while Danica Patrick is poised to make history as first female driver in pole position at Daytona 500. Dish Network, meanwhile, released "Memoriam" Daytona 500 campaign yesterday for its Hopper ad-skipping feature, a campaign that Fox has refused to run and Dish is trying to circumvent.

Microsoft joins list of hacked brands as Internet Explorer 11 rumored and Toyota Racing creates trackside app for Microsoft Windows 8.

Huawei unveils "Make it Possible" global branding campaign for Ascend P2 at Mobile World Congress, where Orange unveils own-brand 4G smartphone.

Coca-Cola forms major co-branding partnership in the Middle East.

Donald Trump tells the Financial Times his brand is worth $8 billion.

Dunkin' Donuts tops Brand Keys loyalty index for seventh straight year.Continue reading...

NASCAR’s premier race, the Daytona 500, kicks off this weekend and the public’s interest has been piqued by the fact that Danica Patrick earned herself the pole position at the front of the race, becoming the first woman to ever do so.

That extra bit of interest couldn’t have come at a better time for NASCAR, which is unleashing a new marketing campaign this week to help it re-engage with its current fans and hopefully rope in a few more.

It will feature nine new commercials, radio and print ads and, of course, “digital engagement." The spots will feature more than two dozen of its drivers and be broadcast in both English and Spanish, according to a company release. Continue reading...

The deluge of early looks at Super Bowl ads, both entire spots and teasers, has helped brands generate lots of buzz online and elsewhere long before Sunday. And in terms of creating brand presence before the Big Game that didn't used to occur, it's hard to argue with that strategy.

But the tidal wave of sneak peeks and January reveals also has allowed early germination of inevitable controversies. Whether the publicity created by those whirlwinds has been good or bad for the brands and their overall Super Bowl branding efforts probably falls under the usual maxim of PR: "as long as you spell my name right."

GoDaddy.com has always bared everything in its Super Bowl ads, so there's no surprise in the controversy over one of its two ads released this week. It's an up-close and personal look at a brief make-out session between supermodel Bar Refaeli and actor Jesse Heiman — something about small business scoring.Continue reading...

If any Super Bowl should be a key moment for Mercedes-Benz, the 2013 game on February 3rd is it. The brand's name is on the stadium where the Big Game is taking place, for one thing. It's introducing an important new model. And Mercedes-Benz could use a boost in the U.S. marketplace, especially one that would reverberate around the world.

Enter Kate Upton and Usher. Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Steve Cannon shared some details (and a sneak peek at the shoot, above) about the brand's 60-second ad planned for Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. He told Business Insider that the ad will be "a tongue-in-cheeck depiction of how far a person might — or might not — go to get their heart's desire."

Such goals might be, say, an evening of clubbing with supermodel Upton, Cannon said, although "we are not using her as a sexual object," he insisted. Instead, the ad will be "upbeat, high-energy, fast-paced [but not] funny." And, of course, there will be a car in there, too. Specifically, Mercedes-Benz will be trying to appeal to a younger demographic by promoting the new CLA, which comes at a lower price point than the rest of Mercedes-Benz's luxury lineup.Continue reading...

With the Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans just seven weeks away, more brands are announcing and making their decisions about TV spots and about the ever-broadening advertising environment around the Big Game. CBS is working to sell the last handful of spots for the broadcast of Super Bowl XLVII from New Orleans, and Ad Age reports that ad packages are going for an average of $3.7 million to $3.8 million. A few of the latest:

MillerCoors is sneaking through the back door into the Super Bowl using a tactic that other advertisers, including auto brands, have used over the years: buying up regional and local TV time. In the brewer's case, it has purchased time during the game on local TV stations in the Great Lakes and Southeast for a 15-second ad for Redd's Apple Ale, an apple-flavored malt beverage that it began testing over the summer, Ad Age reports. MillerCoors can't do national Super Bowl buys because Anheuser-Busch InBev is the exclusive beer sponsor of the NFL, meaning it gets to bring back its Bud Light Hotel to the Big Easy among other cross-promotion around the game.Continue reading...

It's been 20 years since Evelyn Lauder created the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign, and brands continue to support the work in a variety of initiatives. Indeed, this year's Delta pink plane is adding Lauder's signature, as seen above, to honor the woman and her brands' contributions to fighting breast cancer.

2012 also marks Ford Motor Company's 18th year of involvement having dedicated more than $115 million to the cause so far, and this year’s Ford Warriors in Pink campaign offers a limited-edition T-shirt inspired by film and television actor James Denton. For every shirt sold, 100% of net proceeds go to the Pink Fund, an organization that provides short-term financial aid to people during treatment. "The last thing someone with breast cancer needs to worry about is how they are going to pay their bills," says Denton.

Go Daddy is ‘driving’ awareness with Danica Patrick donning pink gear for the GoDaddy.com No. 7 Chevrolet in Friday’s NASCAR Nationwide race in Charlotte. “It’s time to kick breast cancer’s butt,” Patrick commented. “So many women and their families have been impacted by breast cancer … if we all work together, we can definitely help find a cure sooner, rather than later.”Continue reading...

A&P to make CEO its spokesman in new marketing campaign.

Bed Bath & Beyond sees novelty in buying Cost Plus.

Brad Pitt is the new face of Chanel No. 5.

Burger King spurs sales with turnaround efforts.

Cadillac to debut instrument console that functions like an iPad.

Cisco sees grim outlook for tech sector.

Coca-Cola redefines its marketing around Super Bowl, and signs Danica Patrick as ambassador.Continue reading...