Are you ready for some football? Big brands surely are. The National Football League may be a marketing and TV-programing juggernaut, but it is carrying more weight for more major brands than ever.

Take auto advertisers, for instance. Despite football telecasts that already were slated to be crowded with other car brands, Audi decided to use tonight's kickoff game between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys for the marketing launch of its crucial new 2013 S Models. These performance nameplates (S6, S7 and S8) and the "S" brand are fundamental for Audi to move to the next phase of its positioning in the U.S. market, as a provider of exciting, luxurious and well-designed automobiles.

And so the NFL gets the call tonight to host the first Audi ad under its new tagline, "Heighten Every Moment," featuring the Audi S8. The 60-second spot (watch it above) will run in the first break after kickoff. Audi also announced that it will appear in the Super Bowl game in February, its sixth consecutive advertising appearance in the big game.Continue reading...

There's more riding on the shoulders of New York Giants star wide receiver Victor Cruz this year than hopes for the team's repeat of a Super Bowl championship: He also must bear part of the burden of turning around Campbell's woeful soup franchise.

Campbell will feature Cruz in a reprise of its "Mama's Boys" campaign of old for Chunky Soup, an iconic effort that harks back to when Americans still ate more Campbell's soup each year than the year before. That isn't the case anymore for Campbell even after the Great Recession, increased advertising spending, and the latest move — a spate of new products aimed at Millennials — have failed to turn around the fortunes of this venerable soup business.

That's why Campbell's CEO Denise Morrison this week was finally telling investors that, "by itself," the soup business "cannot take us where we want to go." Her vision of a Campbell of the very near future is based on its Pepperidge Farms brand, growing V8 beverage franchise and its recent acquisition of Bolthouse Farms and its packaged fresh foods and juices.Continue reading...

In a first for the NFL and Tiffany, and to celebrate the unveiling of their Super Bowl XLVI championship ring, the New York Giants are inviting fans to share in the moment.

Big Blue die-hards around the world will be able to virtually “try on” and take photos with the Tiffany & Co.-designed ring, as well as each of the team’s three previous Super Bowl rings, using a free augmented reality mobile app by GoldRun. Participants will also be able to pose with the coveted Lombardi Trophy.Continue reading...

New York Giants Super Bowl champion Victor Cruz cut the ribbon today in a kick-off event for New York's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, now gearing up to debut Fall 2012 collections starting Thursday morning at Lincoln Center.

There's also a whirlwind of virtual activity in what the HighLow blog calls "the most egalitarian" New York Fashion Week yet, including a Facebook invitation to RSVP to live-streams of the runway shows and join the conversation on Twitter via the #liverunway hashtag.

YouTube and Maybelline will once again sponsor a real-time YouTube channel that will bring 30 of the Fall 2012 runway shows to the world. The runway videos will also be archived at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week YouTube channel.

Cover Girl is partnering with Polyvore and the Fashion Institute of Technology on Polyvore.com/Live, which will see four FIT grads debut their collections to an audience of fashion insiders and bloggers: Lauren Bagliore, Vengsarkar “Ven” Budhu, Sergio Guadarrama, and Dana-Maxx Pomerantz.Continue reading...

BMW faces snafu in Europe marketing a Mini cold front.

Boeing checks 787 Dreamliners for possible delamination.

Eli Manning's star rises with second Super Bowl win, edging personal brands of brother Peyton and rival Tom Brady.

Facebook is challenged by monetizing mobile.

Ford says majority of big-market dealers are on board for investments in Lincoln brand.

GM aims for $10 billion in annual profit.

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein emerges as corporate spokesman for same-sex marriage.

HP nods toward activist investors.

Honda pulls forward major changes to struggling Civic this fall.Continue reading...

AMR CEO defends job cuts at American Airlines.

AOL doubles down with investment in Huffington Post streaming TV network.

Apple dealt legal setback against Motorola, expands patent fight with Samsung.

Amazon could burn through its cash.

AstraZeneca plans to cut another 7,300 jobs.

Banana Republic brings back Mad Men collection with AMC.

Chipotle holds the line on pricing.

Chrysler re-launches in U.K. with Super Bowl spot on Sky.

Coca-Cola ties effort encouraging teens to Black History Month.Continue reading...

The 53-year-old Madonna promoted her Bridgesteon-sponsored half-time show at Sunday's Super Bowl with a press conference today in which she promised to salsa like the New York Giants' Victor Cruz. 

The University of Tennessee-Knoxville is currently listed as the 46th best national public university on the highly influential U.S. News & World Report annual rankings, a listing that prospective students and their parents are constantly checking and rechecking while trying to figure out their futures.

For those of you keeping score at home, that puts the school that launched Peyton Manning's football career into a dead tie with the University of Oregon, University of Oklahoma, University of New Hampshire, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Kansas, Florida State, and, if that weren’t enough, North Carolina State-Raleigh.

But who wants to be 46th? Not the University of Tennessee, that’s for sure. Last year, when it was ranked 47th, the university set itself a goal to get into the top 25. Clemson, Rutgers, and the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities can do it so why can’t they? A major rebranding effort that launched this week should help get them there.Continue reading...