Boston Beer Aims to Trademark "Boston Strong 26.2"

Boston Beer Company, the maker of Samuel Adams, has been brewing up a special beer, "26.2 Brew," for the Boston Marathon for years. Now that the marathon has taken on a wider social significance in the weeks after the bombings, the company would like to change the brew’s name to "Boston Strong 26.2 Brew" and has applied for a trademark, the Boston Globe reports.

The plan is to use money from the sale of the beer to help victims of the tragedy. Boston Beer says it won’t hog the trademark but allow other beverage companies to use it as well as long as they commit to giving 100 percent of profits to charity.Continue reading...

While NBA fans who are lucky enough to get playoff tickets will file out of each game wearing pretty much anything that has their team’s branding on it, the players they worship will be making completely different choices—and every apparel brand out there would love for that choice to involve them.

In last year’s Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat, the Thunder’s Russell Westbrook let the world know that he thought he was responsible for the hipster trend to wear funky lensless glasses, USA Today recalls.

The playoffs just started this past weekend but it’s already gotten off to a good jump on the fashion front as the Heat’s LeBron James dropped some jaws (and not in a good way) with his Tommy Bahama-esque shirt and James Harden of the Houston Rockets showed up for post-game interviews wearing a shirt that involved a whole lot of pleather. Los Angeles Clippers stars Blake Griffin and Chris Paul also got into the act. Russell Westbrook wore a sleeveless leather top and gold bedazzled high tops after his team’s game Sunday.Continue reading...

Back in October, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade parted ways with Michael Jordan after serving as a spokesman for his Nike-backed Jordan Brand for a number of years. Wade, who has plenty of fans in America, was moving on to conquer a new land: China.

Only a week later, Wade confirmed rumors by announcing that he had signed with Chinese sportswear company Li-Ning. And now Li-Ning is coming right back to Wade as it's signed a deal with the Miami Heat that will find the team's branded merchandise sold at the American Airlines arena (where the billboard above can currently be spotted) and its name and logo posted on in-arena signage as well as on the team’s website and its TV broadcasts.

"The LI-NING brand represents both style and substance and is therefore a welcome addition to the Miami Heat family of partners," said Eric Woolworth, president of The Heat Group's Business Operations, in a press release. "We're eager to help introduce Li-Ning to Heat fans everywhere and we are confident their new collection of Wade merchandise will have a very broad appeal."

Li-Ning, in the middle of a three-year overhaul, is hoping the new partnership will boost its revenue and perception. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company “will record a substantial net loss for the year … as they attempt a major turnaround.”Continue reading...

In China, it's been a late week whirlwind of pro basketball moves, both on and off the court. Just as news hit that NBA star Tracy McGrady had signed to play for a Chinese team — Yes, in China! — Dwayne Wade officially confirmed the rumors that he had switched sneaker affiliation from Nike to China's Li-Ning brand.

Timed to coincide with the much anticipated two games Wade's team, the Miami Heat, will play against the Los Angeles Clippers in Beijing and Shanghai this week, the Li-Ning announcement was long in the making. In fact, maybe a year in the making. Now, will Wade lead Li-Ning back to glory, and will it drag the reputations of China's brands with it?Continue reading...

Nike's 10th signature shoe with LeBron James doesn't cost more than $300, as some sneakerheads feared, even though it's inspired by diamonds. At $270 for the high-end LeBron X+ motion sensor version of the shoe, it will still be Nike's among most expensive shoes to date, showing that Nike knows how to drive a premium and demand.

LeBron James has had quite a summer. He snagged his first NBA championship and NBA Finals MVP as well as his second Olympic gold medal with Team USA. So what else can the 27-year-old do before getting back to work with the Miami Heat?

He can figure out if his brand is strong enough to sell limited-edition sneakers close to the $300 mark. It came out this week that Nike would be putting out a new pair of sneaks branded with the name of James and would possibly ask consumers to pay out $315 for the honor of owning them, according to the Wall Street Journal.

But there was general outrage -- $315! – and a Nike spokesman let the world know that it was just a big misunderstanding and not that way at all. The sneaks would only cost $290, the San Antonio Express reports. If you want a real “deal,” the paper notes, the so-called LeBron X, will also be sold in a “stripped-down, no-frills version” for just $190. Continue reading...

AB InBev closes in on buying remainder of Mexico's Grupo Modelo for more than $12 billion.

Apple adds Yelp check-ins to iPhone maps app, sees Motorola Mobility patent case shut down by federal judge and retail workers described by NYT as "loyal but short on pay."

Best Buy tries to regain edge before back-to-school season.

BlackBerry owner RIM reportedly considers a plan to split its company in two.

Cadillac surprises with integration of Apple's Siri voice.

Carl's Jr. and Hardee's set Spider-Man movie tie-in.

Dewar's announces three-year partnership with TED.

Dairy Queen gripes about New York menu restrictions as it enters the city.Continue reading...

Every automaker, like many politicians, wants to earn the favor of more of the burgeoning population of U.S. Hispanics. So when Ford got an unexpected opportunity to strike a blow in that regard, it took the chance — and created a moment, just as Nike struck when the Heat was hot. TV viewers of NBA Finals on ABC, between the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder, may have noticed that, during the last two games, the network ran a 30-second Ford spot for the new 2013 Escape utility vehicle — in Spanish, with English subtitles.

Network ad execs had noticed the huge penetration of Spanish-speaking viewers watching the first two games of the Finals, about one-sixth of the total audience — mainly concentrated in the Miami area. So they asked Ford if the brand wanted to take advantage of the exposure to a Hispanic audience in a mainstream, DVR-proof, primetime broadcast. Ford clearly viewed it as a coup and made a move that also seemed sort of unprecedented.

"They told us it was the highest penetration they were ever seeing of Hispanic viewership of a [non-soccer] sporting event in the U.S.," Matt VanDyke, Ford's director of U.S. marketing communications, told brandchannel. ABC and ESPN, he added, "were interested in testing and learning and observing how the audience would respond to in-language Spanish advertising and asked if we wanted to test and learn with them."Continue reading...