Today is, unofficially at least, "Love Detroit" Day.

The robust Detroit Lions are about to enter the NFL playoffs for the first time in 13 years. Chrysler just announced the addition of 1,100 new auto-assembly jobs in the city, great news following the ebullient 2011 U.S. car sales reports this week. And Motown is spiffing up for an influx of thousands of foreign journalists and auto-industry executives attending the 2012 North American International Auto Show next week — not to mention the other thousands of Michiganders who will attend the public part of the Detroit Auto Show the following week.

So if Detroit lovers could take a snapshot of any particular day and just live in it for a while, without the clock moving forward, January 6th, 2012 might be that day. Nothing has been ideal in fiscally strapped and infrastructure-challenged Detroit for a long time and might never be again, but today's news has presented a trifecta of developments that the city will certainly embrace for a while.Continue reading...

Ndamukong Suh was featured in a Chrysler TV commercial in May, a big vote of confidence for the rising NFL star from a fellow Detroit icon. But now, he's in the hot seat for acting like a turkey on Thanksgiving.

While most of America was stuffing its face full on Thanksgiving Day, the Detroit Lions defensive tackle was banging the head of Green Bay Packers lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith into the turf three times while his team went down 27-15 to the undefeated Pack.

CBSSports.com reports that Suh, who was ejected from the game but denies stomping on the linebacker’s arm, will get suspended for two games by the league. Whatever happens, this isn’t the first time Suh has been called a dirty player and his sponsors are starting to notice, according to the Detroit News.Continue reading...

Tebowing! Is it a web meme? Is it trademarkable? Is it an affront to God and country? Will the all-powerful smite those who mock Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow? And can Tebow really be an underdog if, as he believes, God is on his side?

The only clear thing is that NFL fans, players and sports wonks are getting completely bent out of shape about something that won't matter in two weeks.Continue reading...

Netflix abruptly abandons plans to rent DVDs and kills Qwikster brand before it launches.

Disney CEO Bob Iger announces he will step down in 2015.

American Apparel finds new fans in Europe.

Apple iPhone pre-sale orders sell out, while overall iPhone sales may not be so rosy.

Chrysler plans to pare minivan offerings as part of brand rationalization and product-portfolio streamlining  as the company winds up talks with UAW.

Conde Nast to develop video and online content.Continue reading...

With its Eminem commercial during the Super Bowl for the new 200 sedan, and for the reinvented company, Chrysler brand CMO Olivier Francois put a stake in the ground around a bold new positioning he called “Imported from Detroit.”

It worked. The first of a series of planned new offerings under the Chrysler-brand wing-spread logo, sales of the 200 in April were up 23% over March, and Chrysler reportedly is considering adding a shift at the Michigan plant that assembles the model. Even more important, the Chrysler brand and product line has returned to the national buzz — in a highly positive sense — less than two years after the company took a federal-government bailout and turned itself over to Fiat.

Now, Francois is attempting to move that stake out a bit further with a new campaign for the new 300 sedan that builds on the "Imported from Detroit" positioning.Continue reading...

Excuse me for a moment while I cover a Thanksgiving branding subject which I care much more deeply about than any retail brand woe: NFL Football.

For decades, Thanksgiving and football have combined for the "Thanksgiving Classic," a special set of games that occur throughout the Thursday holiday. Traditionally, the two games have been played by the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys. (Recently, a third game has been added to beef up the NFL's own network, the creatively-named "NFL Network.") The Lions, by some measure, have been playing the holiday game for 70-pus year. The Cowboys for over 50.

But prior to the Cowboys/Raders afternoon game, the CBS "NFL Today" pre-game show featured a fan text-in vote to determine "Should the NFL rotate the Thanksgiving Day Game?" The (statistically meaningless) result was 53% to 47% in favor of "yes."Continue reading...