Luxury is back at the forefront of fashion and lifestyle despite the still shaky worldwide economy.

Findings from the 2013 Harris Poll EquiTrend, show gains in brand equity across 155 categories from auto makers to department stores across three key criteria: Familiarity, Quality and Purchase Consideration.

"This may show that after a number of years spent tightening their belts, consumers are looking to the quality and value they feel these brands provide,” said Aron Galonsky, SVP Brand and Communication Consulting at Harris Interactive.

Mercedes-Benz took top honors in the Luxury Automotive brand category for the third consecutive year, with Acura (which takes on uber-luxury in its latest US TV commercial, below), Audi, BMW, Infiniti and Land Rover receiving their highest scores ever. Harley-Davidson got its highest score in the study's 25-year history regaining top spot as Motorcycle Brand of the Year.Continue reading...

Apple adds new Samsung devices in patent lawsuit, acquires use of Lightning trademark in Europe from Harley-Davidson.

Chrysler named Marketer of the Year by Ad Age.

GlaxoSmithKline invests in India and Nigeria, responds to Washington Post criticism over pharma funding of drug trials.

Amazon and Pinterest add branded business pages.

Aston Martin draws tire-kickers including India's Mahindra & Mahindra.

Beneful launches playful online videos for dog food.

Casual Male rebrands for the big and tall shopper.

Diner's Club partners on movie promotion for Life of Pi.

Dunkin’ Donuts "best coffee" trademark application rejected by USPTO.Continue reading...

BMW projected to beat Mercedes-Benz for US luxury crown.

PepsiCo reportedly mulls layoffs and salary freeze to appease Wall Street.

Kodak bankruptcy report in WSJ slams stock price.

Apple hires Adobe exec to oversee iAds, threatens to sue company behind Steve Jobs doll and rises at Foxconn's expense.

Australia's Commonwealth Bank crowdsources customer ideas.

Arm & Hammer ordered to pull TV commercial criticizing cat litter competitor.

Audi's China sales outstrip Germany.

Boeing closes premier factory in Wichita.

Burberry is now the most popular luxury brand on Facebook, as YouTube, MTV and Coca-Cola lead in FB engagement.Continue reading...

Like her or hate her, Lady GaGa boasts a very strong, distinct personal brand. So last October, the artist's management moved to protect her brand by trade marking everything GaGa. However, a look at recent updates to the trademark show that GaGa, or her management, may be on the verge of ruining everything.

The documents show that the Lady GaGa trademark covers, among other things, "caps, visors, boxer shorts, headbands, sneakers, swim wear, bras, scarves, hosiery, pajamas, and robes." Oh, and Lady GaGa sweatpants. The update is more worrisome, however, as it includes vinyl covers for cell phones, MP3 players, laptops. It also claims rights to Lady GaGa "gift certificates which may then be redeemed for goods and services."Continue reading...

"Twine"? Twitter is launching its own brand of wine. Don't worry, it's for charity! [The Food Section]

Where The Wild Things Are takes over Manhattan. [BrandFreak]

Bud Light will be the sole advertiser on the upcoming "SNL." [BrandWeek]

Performance sputtering, Harley Davidson ends two brands. [Daily Finance]