It hasn’t been a great couple of years for Johnson & Johnson. Since 2009, “faulty manufacturing” caused J&J to “recall millions of bottles and packages of Tylenol, Benadryl, Motrin and other over-the-counter medicines,” NBC News reports. While that was happening, pharmacies were starting to push their own private labels.

It got so bad that this past winter, CVS didn’t even stock Tylenol at a number of its stores. That isn't all. The company is facing over 10,000 lawsuits regarding the alleged failure of its Depuy metal-on-metal hip transplants, and it just got done paying $181 million in settlements over off-label marketing of its antipsychotic drug, Risperdal, Ad Age notes.

As Mad Men’s Don Draper says, if you don’t like what people are saying, you change the conversation. So J&J is going all-in on a rebrand, putting up to $30 million into a play-to-the-heartstrings Band-Aid of a campaign called “For All You Love.”Continue reading...

Coca-Cola posts lower net and unveils U.S.-bottler deal.

JCPenney buys time with credit line.

Twitter seeks deals with NBC and Viacom for high-quality video content.

A&W plans to move upscale and test fast-casual concept.

Amazon targets older consumers with new store.

Apple dominates in best-paid executives as board retains Jobs deputies.

BMW will debut EV brand Zinoro in China in early 2014.Continue reading...

Amazon is off to a banner year with its customers, according to two studies from Harris Interactive  and Foresee. 

According to the 2013 Harris Poll RQ Study — "RQ" standing for "reputation quotient" — Apple and Google join Amazon in the top five as companies that are seen as more than simply "tech" firms, while the Walt Disney Company, Johnson & Johnson, and The Coca-Cola Company maintain their "great reputations."

Cadillac sees its ATS named North American Car of the Year at the North American International Auto Show, while Ram celebrates naming of 1500 as truck/utility vehicle of the year.

Hostess strikes a deal to sell Wonder Bread and other brands plus production facilities to Flower Foods.

HP CEO Meg Whitman receives $15.4 million.

American Express travel cuts point to end of an era.

Apple cuts orders for iPhone parts.

Billabong receives another takeover bid. 

Deutsche Bank reportedly considers 20-percent bonus cuts in Europe.

GM's Chevrolet division relaunches Corvette brand.Continue reading...

Interbrand's 2012 Best Global Brands report sees Coca-Cola on top, Apple and Samsung make gains, Disney and HP decline, and BlackBerry lose 39 percent of brand value.

Samsung files to add iPhone 5 to Apple patent lawsuit as US court lifts injunction against Galaxy Tab sales and Galaxy S3 outsells iPhone 5 in UK.

Amazon plans to hire 10,000 British temp employees for the holidays.

American Airlines accuses pilots of sabotage as loose seats embarrass execs.

American Express ordered to refund $85 million to customers and pay $27.5 million in penalties.

Apple's iPad Mini rumored for Oct. 17 unveiling.

Cadbury wins exclusive right to its signature purple color in legal battle.

Disney unveils new homepage with entertainment focus.

Facebook sells more access to members as part of ad analytics push; Wall Street approves.

Google's stock market value passes Microsoft's for the first time.

Guinness launches "cloud TV" campaign.Continue reading...

Comedy Central partners with Urban Outfitters on Indecision 2012 collection.

7-11, Walmart, Target and other big retailers team up on mobile wallet to combat Google Wallet.

Apple reportedly in talks with U.S. cable operators to develop a set-top box; and takes a swing at Amazon.

Johnson & Johnson launches ingredient transparency website for baby and beauty products as J&J removes formaldehyde from products.

Bumbo foam child seats recalled following injuries.

Calvin Klein sued by Lululemon for alleged patent infringement.

Chick-fil-A uproar may have inspired gunman.Continue reading...

Android beats Apple for global market share while Samsung becomes top-selling mobile brand in Europe, and Apple and Samsung court battle continues.

Citi tests foreclosure rentals, steps up digital marketing.

Eli Lilly seen as last hope for Alzheimer's drug as Pfizer and J&J bow out.

Betsey Johnson rebounds from bankruptcy with lower-priced collection set for New York Fashion Week.

BlackBerry-maker RIM stock jumps on Samsung rumors.

Carmen Steffens expands fashion brand from Brazil to US.

Chiquita restructuring plan calls for new CEO.

Dairy Queen promotes Orange Julius brand.

Esprit hires Zara exec as new CEO.Continue reading...

Breaking: consumers are not the most reliable source of what grabs their attention and influences their shopping choices. So marketers are using sophisticated eye-tracking technology to measure shopper response to different products and design.

That's why P&G, Kimberly-Clark, Johnson & Johnson and Unilever are just a few of the CPG giants using three-dimensional computer simulations of both designs and store layouts with the eye-tracking technology to deduce how to improve sales.

“Eye-tracking gives you the only valid way of measuring shelf visibility, because it’s fully a behavioral measure," Scott Young, president of Perception Research Services, told Packaging World. "If you ask consumers attitudinally what they saw on shelf, you’re not going to get accurate information, because recall is biased by brand familiarity. If a shopper sees a soda shelf, she will ‘remember’ seeing Coke and Pepsi, even if they weren’t actually on the shelf.”Continue reading...