Subway named top QSR brand in new study. 

Google tests same-day delivery business.

Amazon plans to acquire Goodreads book site.

AOL teams up with coach Phil Jackson to punk Twitter.

Apple faces heightened oversight in China.

Audi aims at Mercedes-Benz CLA with new A3 sedan.

Deutsche Telekom runs into opposition over proposed merger of T-Mobile with MetroPCS.

eBay says it is "now playing offense."

FX pitches new FXX channel at Millennials.Continue reading...

McDonald's debuts new packaging featuring QR codes.

Samsung reportedly developing new Galaxy Tab 3 line-up and a tablet.

Walmart toughens ethics policies for suppliers with zero tolerance policy.

AB InBev wins court bid to get back Bud EU trademark for beer.

Boeing faces intensifying probes on troubled Dreamliner.

Caterpillar woes deepen in China.

Cumulus brings country music back to New York City radio.

Daimler commits to innovation in mobility.Continue reading...

Sheen's Increasing Luster: Fiat USA isn't the only brand to tap Charlie Sheen for its new TV commercials. DirecTV has hired the embattled actor to star in its latest "Get rid of cable ... or you'll regret it" series of commercials, which made a splash when they debuted on Jan. 2nd during the Tournament of Roses telecast.

DirecTV's Pitch: "The spot shows what happens when your frustration with cable causes you to make unwise decisions that could lead to reenacting scenes from Platoon with Charlie in your living room."

Why Sheen?: As The Hollywood Reporter notes, "The spots are a part of Sheen's meta comeback, which has largely consisted of projects that wink — or wholeheartedly embrace — his checkered past." Sheen is slated to return to TV in June, when he will star in an FX series based on the Adam Sandler-Jack Nicholson film Anger Management, in which he'll play "an unconventional anger therapist."

Below, watch another new spot in the "Get rid of cable" campaign, which riffs on Sheen's favorite word: Winning.Continue reading...

It might seem that a TV show about a gang of uninhibited bikers living outside society's rules and expectations would be free from the quest for fulfillment through consumption, let alone merchandise to clad fans of the series. But it turns out that FX's Sons of Anarchy has provided a platform for a hybrid retail experience and boundary-pushing retail app that mixes original products from the show with goods from other brands.

And just because the gang onscreen makes its money on the black market doesn't mean FX can't make a little scratch on the legitimate one. Heck, Sons of Anarchy even joined in Cyber Monday.Continue reading...

With automakers, CPG manufacturers and many other brands becoming big producers of branded video content these days, it might be easy for them to drift from their essential message. Once you go Hollywood, it's possible for a brand to get so enamored of its creative capabilities online that it forgets to sell stuff.

Audi doesn't want to be that brand. So in its new collaboration with the FX network for a series of on-air and online videos called "Untitled Jersey City Project," Audi marketers are taking pains to make sure that the promotion gets the real job done: positioning its new, 2012 A6 as a smart, innovative vehicle choice for its target market.Continue reading...

Apple slows down growth in China and plans reveal iPhone 5 on its campus, as Verizon sides with Samsung in Apple dispute.

Arizona and Lipton fight for first place in dynamic tea category.

Audi and its new A6 "take over" Jersey City in new branded content with FX.

Blockbuster unveils streaming movie service as Netflix secures streaming deal with Dreamworks.

Bloomberg and Time shuffle web heads.

Boeing offers bidets and electric window shades on new Dreamliner for All Nippon Airways.

Bud Light pairs with Pitbull in pitch for Cuban-American consumers.Continue reading...

Apple will introduce new iPhones next month, board member Al Gore confirms.

Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo are hit by ratings downgrades by Moody's.

Bill Gates tops 2011 Forbes 400 wealth ranker.

Facebook is introducing a 'listen with your friends' music app but faces challenges in digital entertainment.

Full Tilt Poker fires back at Justice Department.

Hulu invests in content even as it's for sale.

Netflix teams with Discovery for two-year deal.

News Corp. nixes a "Simpsons" channel but has big hopes for FX.Continue reading...

New billboards along I-95 in Philadelphia, Route 30 in New Jersey and on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, urge motorists to go to VisitPhilly.com to submit a "love letter" to Philly. One lucky participant's message will end up on a highway-side billboard (and maybe on an ad resume!)

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) is jacking up the "love" part of "city of brotherly love" as a new part of the “With Love, Philadelphia XOXO" campaign. It's just the latest attempt to cultivate and foster both a sense of civic pride and communicate that Philadelphia is more than many outsiders might think. And as with most crowd-sourced campaigns, the journey, not the publicized goal, is the goal. 

It's just the latest move from a municipal branding agency that demonstrates how a lot of creativity and a willingness to work outside the normal branding channels, can turn low-budget strategies into big awareness and real results.Continue reading...