China is the second largest economy in the world and every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse)—but who's got the time?! Here's the week's reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.

This week: McDonald's owns the night... KFC woes... Middle-class spending... GM exports... Buick and Toyota recalls... Adidas fakes... GSK scandal... Volvo and Carrefour look West... Hollister brah... Givenchy... Dreamworks' Tibet Code... Durex gets spanked... and more.Continue reading...

Above, Hitchcock H7N9 bird flu poster featuring Shanghai's skyline, via Weibo.

China is the second largest economy in the world and every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse)—but who's got the time?! Here's the week's reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.

This week:  What's haunting Weibo?... Chicken woes for KFC... North Korean beer... New Zealand product placement... Audi's new branded film... Car plates... Skinny Uniqlo goes bigger... Inflation... Diaosi Mike Sui... Fan Bingbing for booze... Disneyland... Jordan gets countersued... Chinese spending in Europe... Former Google China head picks a fight with a 13-year-old... and more.Continue reading...

After 21 years in business, Caribou Coffee is suddenly facing some very grownup decisions.

America's second-largest coffee chain announced that, as of April 14, it will be closing 80 of its locations and rebranding 88 outposts as Peet's Coffee & Tea over the next 18 months, according to a statement from President and CEO Mike Tattersfield.Continue reading...

Above, all of the name brand paper joss items available for this week's Qing Ming Jie or Tomb Sweeping Day when Chinese burn items to send to ancestors in the afterlife. Qing Ming is now big business.

China is the second largest economy in the world and every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse)—but who's got the time?! Here's the week's reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.

This week: Apple still in trouble... China's anti-"fixie" rhetoric... infant formula saga... Celebrity China clout... PETA... counterfeit beer... Porsche... Startup Asia 2013... fly home to vote... "Baidu Glass"... W Hotels... McDonald's... Iron Man 3 to World War Z... cheap Bollinger... iPhone joss... "vulgar" Birkin brand... and more.Continue reading...

Happy April Fool's Day! If you thought your favorite brands were too serious and focused on great products and innovation to have a laugh or two, think again. Here's a roundup of some social media jokes from YouTube, Honda, Twitter and even the little town of Ely, Minn. 

Be honest: did you fall for any of them?Continue reading...

Calvin Klein and Speed Stick reveal teasers for Super Bowl debut, while Beyonce's halftime show also offers a sneak peek in our latest Super Bowl brand round-up.

BlackBerry undercuts debut of new BlackBerry 10 with news of more delays.

Deutsche Bank swings to loss as it cleans up its business.

AutoNation to put its own name on most dealerships.

Bazooka Candy is rebranding for a new generation of gum chewers.

Boeing plays down effects of Dreamliner grounding.

Chipotle starts selling organic hoodies.Continue reading...

Durex kicked off its first global initiative for World AIDS Day 2012 on social media. The brand will donate one condom for every person who shares the Twitter hashtag #1share1condom through December 1st, which is World AIDS Day. Facebook users are being encouraged to share the Durex World AIDS Day image or video above. Accoridng to Mumbrella, the condom brand "has symbolically set a target of 2.5 million condom donations ... representative of the 2.5 million people who were newly infected with HIV last year alone."

As the Olympic torch arrives in London today, a little confusion and more clarity also arrives around the issue of whether visitors to the London 2012 Summer Games will be turned back at the entrance if wearing non-sponsors' logos. In a word, no — despite some confusion from Lord Coe.

That would be Sebastian Coe, the Olympic gold medalist and chairman of the London Olympics Organizing Committee, raised a few eyebrows beyond his advice to competitors to curb tweeting. The 2012 Summer Olympics chairman's interview with the BBC's Radio 4 sent his LOCOG colleagues "scrambling" Friday after he stated that Pepsi t-shirts on attendees wouldn't be welcome in deference to sponsor Coca-Cola, while Nike sneakers would be acceptable even though Adidas is the official shoe sponsor.Continue reading...