Charlie Ergen's Dish Network offers to buy Sprint for $25.5 billion in a bid to one up SoftBank.

ConAgra, Heinz and Nestle lead frozen food battle to reverse negative image.

Nike seeks to regain its edge with fewer ads following Tiger Woods stumble.

Dannon uses Greek-style to leapfrog Yoplait to top of U.S. yogurt business.

Apple clearly enters post-Jobs era.

Justin Bieber sparks controversy with Anne Frank comment.

Boeing sees new inspection order on its 737s.Continue reading...

Gun Company Fires Back at Tommy Guns Vodka

Chicago mobsters back in the days of Al Capone favored a submachine gun known as the Tommy gun, which was then glorified in plenty of films and books about the era. But Tommy guns aren’t some relic of history. Saeilo Enterprises still makes them, and the owners aren’t very happy with Alphonse Capone Enterprises and its Tommy Guns Vodka, which is sold in a bottle shaped like the famous gun.

In fact, they are so annoyed that a lawsuit has been filed, the Chicago Tribune reports. Saeilo wants all of the Tommy Guns Vodka that is left to be turned over so it can all be destroyed. (Consumption counts as destroying, right?)Continue reading...

Arthur Frommer buys back travel book brand from Google, which acquired it with big plans last August.

Facebook readies for rumored phone event today.

Apple's futuristic campus project runs late and $2 billion overbudget.

BlackBerry turns mobile website into "test drive" of new Z10 phone, kills off BBM music service.

CVS and Rite-Aid target allergy season.

ConAgra boosts ad spending as commodity costs drop.

Detroit Electric launches Tesla rival.Continue reading...

It’s been more than 1,500 years since Saint Patrick was laid to rest and could no longer use the shamrock to explain to Christians the idea of the Holy Trinity. Thanks to St. Patrick's Day every March 17th, his legacy inspires millions the world over to consume massive amounts of alcohol and shout “Top of the morning to ya!” to anyone who passes. With such a jovial reputation, you can bet that brands, alcoholic or not, take advantage of the built-in marketing ploy—and not just those participating in Pantone's color of the year for 2013.Continue reading...

When the financial crisis hit in the United States, it also was a big blow to one particular Dutch brewery that pretty much only made one beer. Heineken’s sales went down for a couple of years and its U.S President, Don Blaustein, left in August of 2009 “saying he had a different view over how to expand Heineken in the U.S. during the recession,” as Bloomberg recalls.

We’ll never know if Blaustein’s ideas would have worked given more time, but the new guy, Dolf van den Brink (one of Fortune’s 40 Under 40 execs to watch this year), seems to be figuring it out just fine. “We weren’t in a good position in 2008, 2009,” he told the site. “For 45 years, we were a single-brand operation. We were set in our ways.”

His job, of course, has been to shake up those ways.Continue reading...

Heineken isn’t just James Bond's new beer of choice, with a swanky limited edition collectors' edition in Europe whetting fans' thirst for the upcoming Skyfall movie. The brand also is consumed by enough Americans to make it the nation’s top upscale beer import. And the Dutch brewer wants to keep spreading the brand love.

With that in mind, Heineken has partnered with New York's up and coming Public School fashion label to create a limited-edition camouflage duffel bag in honor of the third annual “Heineken 100,” which honors “tastemakers,” according to a press release. The pair previously collaborated on a limited-edition T-shirt that you may have missed.

"We chose Public School as a partner because their clientele, like ours, are open-minded, confident, resourceful men who know quality, seek out new experiences and are ever-evolving in all aspects of their life," said (Bond-worthy named) Olga Osminkina, senior brand director of Heineken USA. "We hope this is one of many future collaborations with innovative and accomplished designers who align perfectly with the aspirations of the Heineken consumer."

The brewer is all about new looks these days as it also has redesigned its packaging for the first time since 1946 — meaning that James Bond isn't the only star on its bottle. The brand's new “Star Bottle” design (see below) that's coming to the U.S. is now rolling out to some vendors in New York and is scheduled to be on shelves in the rest of the country by March of next year.Continue reading...

With little to gain and a lot to lose, playing politics is something brands generally do from a position of neutrality ("7-Election"), low-brow humor (Gas-X's "Gas Crisis") or outright mocking of the system (Etch A Sketch; Reebok's 2003 Terry Tate candidacy). So when the Most Interesting Man in the World chose to host a fundraising event for President Barack Obama, Dos Equis's parent Heineken USA was understandably vexed, forced into one of those frustrating statements all brands hate to make that include the words "views are strictly his own, and do not represent."

But maybe Dos Equis — and Heineken — should play to their brand strengths. According to a recent study, both brands' drinkers trend Democratic, with the former rated the most popular beer amongst lefties. So when viewers drunkenly yell at the TV during the first 2012 presidential debate on Wednesday, chances are they will do so with very partisan bottles in hand.Continue reading...

Apple shares reach $700 as iPhone 5 shatters sales record.

Belvedere owes Bruce Willis for years of representing Sobieski vodka.

Burberry says strategy won't change as brand brings capes to London Fashion Week.

Chrysler and GM will get a chance at deal similar to new labor accord between Ford and Canadian Auto Workers.

Conde Nast plans French Vanity Fair.

Dole Food to sell businesses to Itochu.

Dos Equis finds some fans unimpressed with Obama endorsement by its "most interesting man" actor.Continue reading...