While the world's soccer fans have known for years where the top national teams would be headed for the 2022 World Cup, it's taken until now to nail down where their digital counterparts would be playing. 

Electronic Arts and FIFA have signed a licensing extension that will continue a relationship that’s been in place for two decades. The new agreement has FIFA and EA paired up until the end of 2022, VentureBeat reports. The partnership has paid off handsomely for both brands: every week, about 65 million FIFA video game matches are played.

“Our relationship with EA Sports is of high importance to FIFA,” said Jérôme Valcke, FIFA Secretary General, in a release. “The FIFA videogames are a key experiential component in our work to communicate the FIFA brand and its values all over the world. This is highlighted by the 2.5 million football fans that have competed in this year’s FIFA Interactive World Cup, which is just one example of the power of our partnership with EA.”Continue reading...

20 dead children is the kind of PR disaster from which no product category could flourish—except for one. In the wake of the Dec. 2012 Newtown school shooting, gun makers are reporting record profits. Sturm, Ruger & Co. just recorded a 53 percent increase in post-Newtown Q1 profits.

Ironically, the exact same publicity that is boosting profits is creating a fraught sales environment. Post Newtown, small individual errors that may have been ignored a year ago are now huge potential PR crises, like when a gun made for kids kills them. While gun makers have been on the messaging defensive for months, they are just waking up to the fact that they have to also be offensive.Continue reading...

IBM may sell part of its server unit to Lenovo, misses estimates for first time since 2005 and struggles to deal with mobile computing shift.

AB InBev reportedly strikes deal with US on Modelo acquisition, as Busch heir resigns from NRA in wake of gun control bill's defeat in US Senate.

Dell sees Blackstone end its pursuit.

Adidas brings out "Boston Stands As One" t-shirt as CVS Caremark pledges to raise money for bombing victims, along with JetBlue and other companies.

Al Jazeera pushes back U.S. launch date.

Amazon may be unveiling mobile payments solution according to patent filing. 

The Atlantic magazine plans to launch paid digital content.

Avis taps celebrities to target "professionals" in new ad campaign.

BBC America and Twitter announce content-sharing partnership.

Boeing may see FAA clearance for Dreamliner as early as today.Continue reading...

"Acting!" That's the NRA's much anticipated response to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" ad featuring a gun owner who admits to supporting comprehensive background checks for gun purchases.

The NRA claims that because the organization will not give out the name of the ad's star, he must be an actor. Also, because he's mishandling the gun in the ad—something no real pro-gun owner would ever, ever do—he must be a plant. Now one blog is offering a bounty on the actor's identity to prove the NRA correct.

It's the latest turn in the increasingly petty back and forth between gun rights and gun control advocates.Continue reading...

Guns, sure. But what about knives? Ted Nugent is coming to the rescue of knife owner rights.

The controversial rocker has teamed with gunmaker Wilson Combat to release a special edition Nugent-signature model 1911 handgun, sales of which will benefit the Knife Rights. It's just what the doctor ordered… if by doctor, you mean people who own knives and like handguns.

With the recent highly-publicized knife attack on a Texas campus spurring both jokes and serious talk about "knife control," the Nugent partnership might be perfectly timed.Continue reading...

You've certainly read about Google, YouTube, American Eagle, BMW and other major branded April Fools' hijinks. But, below, smaller brand-focused April Fool's jokes you probably missed.

At top, Jockey Sport amended its landing page to announce a new product: The environmentally friendly NearlyNaked running shoe, made completely from recycled underwear. And below, the lately maligned Lululemon addresses its sheer yoga pants crisis with a material that licks that problem: leather.Continue reading...

In the aftermath of the massacre of 20 young schoolchildren and six school staffers last December in Connecticut, the word was that this shooting spree was somehow going to be different from all the rest—different from Virginia Tech and Aurora, Colo., and Columbine and Luby’s Cafeteria back in ’91 and, well, all the rest that keep on happening far too regularly. This time, America was going to look at itself in the mirror and change.

So far, though, the Sandy Hook shootings haven’t caused much change. The “national conversation” has dragged on and senators will finally introduce new gun legislation soon. This will be the “first time in years” Congress takes a look at “significant gun control legislation,” NBC reports. But the inaction and relative toothlessness of the legislation has kicked New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg into gear.Continue reading...

Honda has the best brand image, according to a Kelly Blue Book study.

FDA abandons graphic cigarette warning labels in favor of new approach.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg launches $12 million ad campaign against the NRA.

Amazon is the most visited online retailer in Europe.

Boeing's Dreamliner completes first flight test since being grounded.

With 1 million users, Fitocracy users are more engaged than any social network besides Facebook.

GQ allows users to personalize its iPad app with MyGQ technology.Continue reading...