Yahoo agrees to buy Tumblr for $1.1 billion, but questions already arise about how new native ads will affect cachet.

Buick Motor Co. celebrates 110 years. 

P&G launches major review of its advertising ROI.

Actavis acquires Warner Chilcott in $5 billion pharma deal.

Billabong sees brand value drop after failed buyout attempts.

Campbell Soup meets high earnings hopes.

Chrysler quality now rivals Toyota, exec claims.

DirecTV considers bid for Hulu.

Domino's debuts DVD that smells like pizza.

GM accelerates financial and operational streamlining, CFO says.

Google may allow branded apps for Glass.Continue reading...

Not long after Pizza Hut bid for the gamer vote last week with its pizza-ordering app via Microsoft Xbox, Domino's has made a different kind of attempt to grab some idle time from online denizens who are also pizza fans.

The chain is testing a system it calls Domino's Live at one of its new "pizza-theater" stores in Salt Lake City. The platform will give customers a live, uncut glimpse of the making of Domino's pizza from start to finish, 12 hours a day, everyday, using five cameras installed around the store—in locations such as one that is poised just outside the oven exit.

CEO J. Patrick Doyle told brandchannel that Domino's Live is "a logical extension" of the chain's efforts to boost "transparency" even further. "We're proud of what we do in our stores, and the ingredients in our pizzas," he said.Continue reading...

Apple sells largest corporate-bond offer in history.

Monster sues to halt effort to curb energy drinks.

Twitter opens up self-serve ad platform to all businesses.

Chrysler Group auto sales rose 11 percent in April; Ram truck sales were up 49 percent.

Coda Holdings electric-vehicle maker files for bankruptcy.

College Football Playoff unveils new (and quite boring) logo. 

Domino's results ride pan pizza wave.

Fisker Automotive fell apart because it sought too much, too fast.

Ford says sales of Lincoln MKZ have shaken off supply and launch problems.Continue reading...

Pizza and gaming are eventually likely to evolve into a single pursuit, like football and touchdown dances or movies and popcorn. Now, Pizza Hut is working with Microsoft Xbox to move the process along a little bit.

Today, Pizza Hut is debuting an app for Xbox Live that lets users order a pizza through their Xbox 360 with just the game controller, voice input or Kinect gestures—once they've chosen the nearest pizza parlor. Custom orders are also available.

"If you look at our audience, they love pizza," said Xbox's Larry Hryb, according to Mashable. "I mean, who doesn't? It has international appeal, and Pizza Hut is a recognized brand that matches up well with the Xbox brand."Continue reading...

In pizza, the deeper you go, the happier you are. That's why major regional chains have been joining the big ones in the growing pan-pizza segment, why Pizza Hut is doubling down on the most traditional pizza ingredient and why even Chili's is seeing green in pizza these days.

About 20 percent of US pizza sales are now pan-style, providing much of the industry's growth. Domino's, the No. 2 chain, for example, recently introduced its first fresh-dough pan pizza. Big regional players Little Caesar's and Hungry Howie's—which also like Domino's happens to be based in Michigan—have jumped into the pan as well. Little Caesar's new Deep! Deep! Dish Pizza is considered the biggest product introduction in its 54-year history.

For Domino's, marketing its pan pizza has prompted an interesting new wrinkle in its previous positioning. It came to prominence as the guarantor of 30-minute delivery, and speed-to-mouth always has been a big part of the chain's brand. With pan pizza taking longer to cook than Domino's traditional thin-crust pies, however, the demands of quality and taste have required a different approach.Continue reading...

HP board shakeup and chairman exit gives CEO Meg Whitman a chance to shake off troubles.

BP faults Deepwater Horizon claims overseer, launches first brand-wide fuel loyalty program.

BMW prepares X4 crossover for U.S. market, makes vehicles greener with fewer cylinders, less gasoline.

Al Jazeera America hires CNN's Ali Velshi as anchor.

Amazon's Jeff Bezos leads $5 million investment round in Henry Blodget's Business Insider.

Apple reportedly signs music labels for streaming service as Google's YouTube clinches deal with Universal Music.

Best Buy may have turned the tide on showrooming Amazon.Continue reading...

Interbrand announces the 2013 Best Retail Brands report.

Coca-Cola honored with first Clio brand icon award.

Starbucks names new global CMO in former Sephora marketer Sharon Rothstein, as McDonald's passes Starbucks as most social brand.

Apple rumored to pull out the stops for the next iPhone to take on Samsung, which has replaced Nokia as top smartphone brand in China and confirmed it's developing a smartwatch to take on Apple's rumored wearable computer.

BlackBerry prepares to bring million-selling Z10 smartphone to U.S. on Friday with 100,000 apps.

Burger King hopes folks gobble up new turkey burger.

Carl's Jr. and Hardee's introduce Jim Beam bourbon burger.

Clorox introduces smart tube technology to packaging design.Continue reading...

The Super Bowl is either an excuse for a phantasmagoria of purposeless eating, or the stage for a veritable symphony of snacking. Either way, QSR and CPG brands have been gearing up for Sunday for months — and not just in the game-day advertisements that are being run at great expense by Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi, Coke, Doritos, Wonderful Pistachios and other kings of Super Bowl consumption.

Take Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, for example, both owned by Yum! Brands. This week, Pizza Hut expanded its "Hut. Hut. Hut" Super Bowl campaign it's been promoting on Facebook by offering all Americans a free sample of its latest "product innovation" on Tuesday afternoon at any of its 6,200 U.S. locations. The chain wouldn't reveal the nature of this innovation but said it'll become apparent by being integrated into the content of CBS's pregame show. All that is necessary to activate this promotion is for one of the quarterbacks to yell "Hut!" during the game — which seems very likely.

On the Taco Bell side of the company, the brand plans to introduce the new Cantina Bell Steak Burrito in a pregame ad and, of course, already has released its Super Bowl ad featuring young-at-heart seniors. Copy at the end of the ad  points viewers to Taco Bell's Facebook page, where consumers can participate in a "Live Mas Monday" on Feb. 4, during which a free churro willl be given away with any purchase during regular storehours at U.S. locations.Continue reading...