KFC's command of American Chicken is under assault on a number of fronts. But the chain that made fast food out of chicken isn't about to give up its territory without a big fight.

This week KFC US introduced Original Recipe Bites, the chain's answer to McDonald's success with its limited-time Chicken McBites earlier this year and the Spicy Chicken McBites that the No. 1 fast-feeder is currently promoting. KFC, of course, also faces more competition from the likes of Chick-fil-A, which consumers find easy to love wherever the brand pops up.

"Only KFC could introduce big, bite-sized chicken with the famous flavor of Original Recipe," said Jason Marker, KFC's U.S CMO, venturing into tautological territory in the company's press release, predicting that the "bite-sized 100 percent breast meat chicken [will] be a hit with adults as well as kids."Continue reading...

Facebook heads into IPO today with record pricing and a strategy to raise money, not hype, WSJ says — but also with persistent questions among brand marketers about the value of advertising, among other challenges. Meanwhile, average investors face long odds on a big Facebook payday, which will make Bono the richest rock star and Mark Zuckerberg richer than Google's co-founders.

Yahoo names new executive team as Alibaba deal apparently looms.

HP plans to slash workforce by up to 30,000, WSJ says.

Bud Light is drawing online buzz from Millennials.

Amazon to sell ads on Kindle Fire welcome screen.

Barneys New York relaunches website.

Coca-Cola bests Pom Wonderful in court in latest round of long-running labeling dispute.Continue reading...

The Super Bowl buzz window before Sunday's Big Game isn't closed yet! Among those bellying up with sneak peeks at their full SB46 commercials today include Century 21's official spot (above) with Donald Trump, Deion Sanders and Apolo Anton Ohno.

Pepsi also revealed its much-hyped ad starring Elton John and X Factor winner Melanie Amaro, who only wants some Pepsi — and uses her award-winning pipes to get some from a reluctant King John:Continue reading...

After everybody blows their budgets at holiday time, consumers generally go into a brief hibernation of sorts. They eat at home and start scraping their pennies together again for the next time they need to show some consumer confidence.

USA Today takes note of how fast-food establishments are going to do everything they can to keep those consumers coming out and spending their dollars, though “a key indicator for the industry, foot traffic, was down 0.6% in the third quarter of 2011,” according to a new report from NPD Group, and “restaurant visits in the first half of 2012” are projected to be “flat.”

So what tactic will the industry pull out to lead hungry Americans their way? Deals!Continue reading...

Saab signs deal to be purchased by Chinese firms.

Samsung overtakes Apple as top smartphone seller.

Virgin Galactic space tourism could begin in 2013.

Chrysler becomes profit-maker.

Disney strikes TV deal in Russia.

Jack in the Box and Jamba Juice are testing Google Wallet.

J.Crew president Jenna Lyons' personal life makes headlines.

Netflix reportedly takes up one-third of web bandwidth.

New York City's first casino opens today.

Nokia launches first Windows phone ad, in Europe.

Obama administration announces desert solar energy zones.

P&G's Wrigley brand is 100 years old this month as company finds consumers largely are accepting price hikes.

Samuel L. Jackson becomes top-grossing movie star of all time.

Under Armour hits the basketball court.

Weather Channel relaunches iPad app ahead of international expansion.

Whirlpool to cut more than 5,000 jobs.

& NYT ponders if the era of cheap Chinese imports to US is ending.

Accenture strikes outsourcing agreement with Nokia.

Adidas faces French inquiry.

Adobe sales exceed estimates, but challenged in Europe.

Airbus racks up orders at Paris Air Show while Boeing dazzles with latest version of its venerable jumbo jet.

Amazon expects to sell 4 million tablets this year.

AOL UK relaunches homepage with Tesco sponsorship.Continue reading...

Airbus is poised to dominate Paris Air Show this week as rival Boeing decides whether to revamp or replace the 737.

Current TV sets its sights on MSNBC with Keith Olbermann and new branding.

Disney fuels product-placement formula with Cars 2.

Dollar General builds post-recession momentum.

Facebook becomes new king of display-ad revenue.

Ford launches showroom for PlayStation users and plans to buff up Lincoln brand.

Jack in the Box changes menu to promote high-margin items.Continue reading...

Anti-obesity activists are hoping that the city of San Francisco will ban toys as giveaways by fast food restaurants failing to meet nutritional guidelines. Under proposed legislation, restaurant meals that come with toys would also have to include a half-cup of fruit and three-quarters of a cup of vegetables.

Further, a fast food restaurant would be prohibited from giving toys or other incentives with menu items that did not meet guidelines for calories, fat and sodium. For example, a single menu item could not exceed 200 calories, derive more than 35% of its calories from fat, or contain more than 480 milligrams of sodium.

This presents a significant problem for most fast food restaurants, because a typical hamburger served at a restaurant such as McDonald's (a target for its popular co-branded Happy Meals for kids), Burger King, or Jack in the Box weighs in at a minimum of 250 calories and contains over 500 milligrams of sodium.Continue reading...