New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is one of the most-watched NFL players in the biz, particularly by folks who don’t care for the game. Being married to supermodel Gisele Bundchen will do that for a guy.

So it set tongues wagging Wednesday when Brady showed up at his weekly Wednesday press conference wearing a gray sweatshirt that had the Nike logo that is usually there on the sleeve covered up with a little piece of white tape. Nike, of course, is the official supplier of the NFL’s apparel. But, as NESN points out, Brady has a deal with competitor Under Armour.

Brady talked about plenty of things, such as his ailing right shoulder and the team’s 1-2 record. But he didn’t address how that piece of perfectly sized tape happened to get onto his sweatshirt right at that particular spot.

The Boston Globe's New England Patriots beat reporter, Shalise Manza Young, tweeted the photo above and later commented, "Brady has vested interest in UA - not just spokesman, gets share of profits."Continue reading...

Esprit has been trying to engineer a turnaround, last year announcing a $2.3 billion, four-year plan and hiring supermodel Gisele Bundchen as the Hong Kong-based brand's global face. Despite a minor uptick in sales as a result, the turnaround hasn't been dramatic — and company announced this week that CEO Ronald Van der Vis was quitting, making him the second top exec (following the chairman) to walk out in the last six months.

Bloomberg reports that Esprit Holding’s stock took a nosedive after the news. "The unexpected resignation is a serious blow to the company's transformation plan and will cast doubt on the execution," said Andrew Sullivan, principal trader at Piper Jaffray Asia Securities, to Bloomberg. "Investors may fear that his stepping down will bring the transformation efforts back to square one."

Van der Vis said on a conference call that he’ll remain in his post for 12 more months, and that he's stepping down for family reasons and not because of any dispute with the board. No strategic changes are planned to Esprit’s transformation program, he added, although some “adjustments” are possible during the transition.Continue reading...

AOL hears strategy slammed by activist investor.

Ancestry.com uses humor in holiday-themed campaign.

Carnival Cruise campaign focuses on first-time cruisers.

CNN's Piers Morgan gets grilled in U.K. hacking probe.

Cracker Barrel shareholders reject activist investor's bid for board seat.

EA strikes again at Activision with new video game.

Facebook plans to begin placing ads in user news feeds.Continue reading...

Ikea introduces a nursery… for men. Australian men. We're jealous.

Below, don't miss Tata's "car chase to end all car chases" spot (and more campaigns).Continue reading...

Talk about a show-stopper. No, not Lady Gaga's cross-dressing performance as Jo Calderone. It was Beyoncé's surprise revelation at the MTV Video Music Awards that she and husband Jay-Z are expecting a baby that shocked observers, prompting 8,868 tweets per second as the news spread on Aug. 28, setting a record for the site.

Now, as Beyoncé prepares to add "mom" to her list of credits, fans are wondering what this is going to do to her career. Will it delay the filming of her next movie? Will it cost her the love of young male hip hoppers?

Forbes suggests that this new chapter in the lives of hop hop’s king and queen doesn’t have to be a bad thing brandwise. Instead, this may open up a lot of doors for the pair, who placed second in Forbes’ annual list of top-earning celebrity couples. They brought in $72 million, behind only the whopping $76 million pulled in by New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen.Continue reading...

AT&T critiqued for not delivering on 4G promises.

Bank of America $8.5 billion pact comes under scrutiny by New York Attorney General.

Cisco CEO vows faster innovation.

Gisele Bundchen launches clothing line for C&A.

Netflix price hike draws criticism on its blog announcement and a counter-promotion from Blockbuster.

NBCUniversal accused of million-dollar Harry Potter font theft.

Walmart is no longer perceived as offering the lowest prices.Continue reading...

Acer faces rising tablet challenge.

American Family tops insurance-satisfaction ranking.

Bing, Google and Yahoo partner on web standards.

Chevron boosts Gulf of Mexico production.

EA launches Origin, a consumer gaming platform.

Facebook testifies that Ceglia e-mails were forged.

Fiat buys rest of US government stake in Chrysler.Continue reading...

Luxury brand Cartier will finally open an online store for American shoppers. [WWD]

PayPal's new app allows for money transfers via smartphone. [TechCrunch]

Designers are trying harder to appeal to consumers rather than create trends. [NY Times]

A Burger King new promotion puts consumers' mugs on sandwich wrappers. [BrandFreak]

Phillips-van Heusen spent $3 billion to acquire the Tommy Hilfiger company. [NY Times]

Sports channel Versus is back on the air thanks to a Comcast-DirecTV deal. [LA Times]Continue reading...