Long before Occupy Wall Street took over the press (and hundreds of cities), PETA was showing the young 'uns how it's done. Constantly grabbing the headlines with in-your-face advertising and local stunts, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals organization was building its brand of provocative branding.

They're still at it, of course. Just this week, PETA sued SeaWorld in Orlando for "enslaving" Orca whales; called for a ban on private ownership of exotic animals in the wake of the Zanesville tragedy; asked director Cameron Crowe to tame the marketing for his upcoming movie, We Bought a Zoo; offered a $5,000 reward to document animal abuses at a Toledo circus and $1,000 for information in a puppy mutilation case; and dispatched zombies to protest a steakhouse in Cincinnati and promote veganism.

They've also been lobbying NYC mayor Mike Bloomberg to address the situation of carriage horses dropping dead in the streets, a black eye for Big Apple tourism that PETA asked Glee star Lea Michele to address in a PSA earlier this year. And of course, there's its long-running cheeky series of stripping celebs protesting fur.Continue reading...

In year-end sales figures released today, US automakers post gains (first since the recession) as Toyota lags and Ford moves to second place behind GM. Lexus held off Mercedes-Benz and BMW to hang onto the top US luxury auto brand.

Apple's iPad is being embraced by the educational market for in-school use.

BitTorrent has more users than Netflix and Hulu combined.

BMW's electric hybrid sets $200K price point.

Consumer Reports sees packaging shrinking on US grocers' shelves.

GE unloads $6B worth of debt.Continue reading...