Politicians love to talk about taxes, but pretty much nobody else does. Except, of course, those tax-happy preparation companies, who will do anything to show you just how easy and fun they’ll make the process if you want to bring your shoebox full of numbers to their light-filled, homey offices filled with smiling employees.

Whether tax-prep ads equate with reality or not, they are out in full force in the final weeks of tax season. Ace Metrix rates TurboTax’s work to be the most effective tax ads to debut this year. In fact, TurboTax has hammered its competition and placed eight of its ads on the Top 10 list.Continue reading...

H&R Block urged those who had filed taxes with other preparers over the last few years to bring in their returns for a free “Second Look” to try and find mistakes other places may have made and bring their customers more dough. It turns out the company may want to use the service itself.

The Kansas City-based company is now offering up apologies because up to 600,000 of the tax forms it filed in February could be delayed up to six weeks due to a filing mistake made by H&R Block associates.Continue reading...

FTC clarifies rules for social and mobile advertising.

Reader's Digest reports big gains among advertisers and readers.

Samsung deals with high expectations for Galaxy S IV as it outspends Apple on marketing.

BBC World News launches global marketing campaign.

Boeing gets FAA initial approval of battery fix for Dreamliner and wins $15 billion order from Ryanair for current 737 plane, report says.

Cadbury's Silk undergoing brand "renovation."

Chevrolet accelerates dealer infotainment training.Continue reading...

Ancestry.com acquires Archives.com for $100 million.

Anheuser-Busch warns UFC about fighters' inappropriate comments.

Apple now gets one-fourth of its revenue from China as CEO emerges from Jobs's shadow.

Bausch & Lomb shifts focus from contact lenses.

Bottega Veneta launches personalized fashion.

Burberry passes New York Times critique of designer lines for kids.

Burger King faces higher costs after decision to go cage-free.

Chrysler quadruples first-quarter profits and slow-walks investment in China.Continue reading...

At CES, Samsung announces content for each screen.

Apple CEO Tim Cook could end up being America's highest-paid CEO for 2011.

Coors Light blasts by Bud to become No. 2 brew.

Dr Pepper releases "I'm one of a kind" ad campaign.

Ford is on the cusp of a true financial comeback; makes 100% sustainable interior.

Myspace reinvents itself as an entertainment experience, brings Justin Timberlake to CES.

Olympus sues execs over scandal.

Suze Orman puts her name on pre-paid credit card.

Smoothie King launches campaign to help customers get fit.

Toyota and Honda plan to fight back with new product reveals at NAIAS, which saw 27 new vehicle unveilings yesterday.Continue reading...

Netflix and Starz contract renewal talks break off, ending one of Netflix's "most important" (though less so, lately) content deals.

Hostess Brands, maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, retains restructuring advisers.

Oracle $1.3 billion verdict against SAP overturned by judge.

Accera Inc.'s Axona milkshake raises hopes for Alzheimer's patients.

Air Australia reveals new livery.

Airbnb expands into sublets.

Amazon bargains to avoid online sales tax in California.

American Airlines disputes survey saying it had the longest call-waiting times during Hurricane Irene, hires pet detective to track missing-at-JFK passenger Jack the Cat.Continue reading...

What do Schick, Subway, H&R Block, Taco Bell, Wrigley and GM have in common? They’ve all pulled their ads from MTV’s controversial series Skins after the Parents Television Council (PTC) called it “the most dangerous show” on TV and began targeting advertisers last week to jump ship.

During the second episode of the US remake of the racy British teen drama, movie studios picked up the slack. MTV ran ads during Monday's broadcast, including Sony's Adam Sandler comedy Just Go With It, Screen Gems' thriller The Roommate, Warner Bros.' The Rite and Unknown, DreamWorks and Disney's I Am Number Four, and Universal's Sanctum 3D.

Why would movies support the controversial series while chewing gum and fast food brands are running scared?Continue reading...

Apple's quarterly profits (up 70% on iPad and iPhone sales) put company in running to become largest U.S. public company, while CEO Steve Jobs casts a hex on rivals' tablets.

Bank of America will resume foreclosures.

British Airways dispute with Unite cabin crew union may be resolved soon.

Citigroup beats Wall Street projections, begins legal battle over EMI buyout.

Clearwire is bringing 4G to major U.S. cities with Sprint, Comcast and Time Warner.

Discovery Channel's Mythbusters lands a cameo from President Obama.

Domino's adds sound to online Pizza Tracker tool.

Facebook vows to keep applications from divulging users' personal information.Continue reading...