Beyoncé is beyond busy. Following her Pepsi-sponsored Super Bowl halftime show, she presented an award at the Grammys with Ellen Degeneres, she's the cover girl for the March issue of Vogue, she did an interview with Oprah Winfrey and her documentary aired on HBO, not to mention that her "Mrs. Carter World Tour" is almost upon us, kicking off in Belgrade in April and reaching the U.S. in late June. 

The star posted a Warhol-inspired ad to her Facebook page (which has over 43 million likes!) and can be seen striking three poses, highlighting her much-talked about new bleached blonde hair. The caption, in a nod to her soda sponsor's "Live for Now" tagline and the 60's inspiration: "Pop Art inspires me to Live for NOW."

In another made-for-social promo image, Pepsi's $50 million girl channels Monroe and Bardot, clad in a pair of teeny shorts and a tight-fitting white turtleneck. The ads, which promote her upcoming Pepsi-sponsored tour have come under some fire for portraying the vocal star with a visibly fairer complexion.Continue reading...

In just one week, the EU’s sweeping ban on animal testing for cosmetics and personal care products goes into effect.

"All personal care products, from high-end to drugstore brands, will be subject to the rules," and "final products cannot be tested on animals and nor can any of a given products’ ingredients."

The European ban starting March 11th is a hard-won victory impacting companies and brands worldwide, and follows two decades of campaigning by organizations such as PETA, public protests, phone calls, and more than 20,000 e-mails.

“It’s enormously important because it started out as an ethical stand—animals should not die for shampoo—and brought about a whole new era of non-animal science,” Kathy Guillermo, SVP Laboratory Investigations at PETA, told brandchannel. “This ban shows that once an animal test is rejected, scientists can and will come up with a new and better way. We need to put the same limitations on household chemicals, pharmaceuticals and medical devices.”Continue reading...

Nike and Oakley drop paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorious following steroid allegations during girlfriend's murder investigation.

Costco CEO addresses Tiffany suit for alleged trademark infringement in all-company email (exclusive).

Starbucks expands India footprint to seven stores as company tests video chat drive-through ordering and expands Starbucks Evenings concept to Washington's Dulles airport.

Carnival cruiseship fire blamed on fuel line leak.

China vows to crack down on "malicious" trademark registrations.

Disney's Hong Kong Disneyland theme park finally turns a profit thanks to Toy Story attraction.

Amway quietly builds brands and racks up sales.

BP prepares to go to court over Gulf spill.Continue reading...

Google releases new map app for Apple iPhone, shuts down shopping search in China, and makes porn harder to find, as CEO defends tax avoidance.

Apple settles European e-book price-fixing probe with publishers.

Applebee's interviews creator of #HireKevin campaign.

BMW and Boeing plan to collaborate on making carbon fiber.

Barclays joins industry cost-cutting wave, eliminating 2,000 jobs.

Berkshire Hathaway plans rare buyback of holder's stock.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...

Today is Génifique Day (formerly Genes Day), a one-day national event benefitting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and Lancôme will donate $7 from in-store or online sales of select Génifique products to St. Jude. Last year’s events and activities helped raise over $300,000 in support of lifesaving research and treatment.

"Our three-year partnership stands as a testament to Lancome's commitment to supporting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, an organization that shares many of our core values," says Serge Jureidini, president of Lancome USA, in a press release.

Lancome, the world's largest luxury beauty brand, sold at 2,000 counters across the U.S., applied ten years of research to Genifique, introduced in 2009, which “re-plumps, refines and re-illuminates the skin as if infused with life.” Fans of the product include "Mad Men" actress Christina Hendricks, Lancome ambassadress Julia Roberts, British songbird Lily Allen, supermodel Veronica Webb and star makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury.

Making it easy for people to spread awareness of Genifique Day, the Lancome Facebook page is inviting users to create and share photo booth photo strips about “occasions when they feel their best.”Continue reading...

Google turns in soft quarter as PR fail pummels stock.

HSBC hit by worldwide cyberattack.

McDonald's profit falls as U.S. growth slows.

Abbott study of kidney drug is halted.

Apple's iPad Mini poised to cannibalize sales.

Lance Armstrong endorsement implosion toll reaches $30 million.

BBC director general to testify on Jimmy Savile scandal, as new head of BBC Worldwide named.Continue reading...

In September, just a year and a half after the the British communications authority Ofcom allowed paid product placement in the nation's TV programs, the BBC 2 show The Great British Bake Off featured the logo of refrigerator brand Smeg dozens of times, sending viewers into a tizzy. As one complainant wrote, "The Smeg logo was so visible that I counted it 37 times before giving up." The BBC later admitted that rules were broken involving the Smeg placements.

The conversation involving the terms "British" and "product placement" is currently dominated by philosophical arguments concerning the upcoming James Bond film, Skyfall. But a new report from the UK's New Media Group (NME) brings more hard data and analystics to the topic. One of its findings: It's not just Smeg that's been testing the limits of the new rules.Continue reading...