Above, Hitchcock H7N9 bird flu poster featuring Shanghai's skyline, via Weibo.

China is the second largest economy in the world and every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse)—but who's got the time?! Here's the week's reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.

This week:  What's haunting Weibo?... Chicken woes for KFC... North Korean beer... New Zealand product placement... Audi's new branded film... Car plates... Skinny Uniqlo goes bigger... Inflation... Diaosi Mike Sui... Fan Bingbing for booze... Disneyland... Jordan gets countersued... Chinese spending in Europe... Former Google China head picks a fight with a 13-year-old... and more.Continue reading...

Al Jazeera buys Current TV from Al Gore, prompting Time Warner Cable to drop channel.

Hormel Foods branches out as it buys Skippy peanut butter brand from Unilever.

Toyota declares a rebirth.

5-Hour Energy sees ad claims rebutted (again).

AB InBev plans to launch stronger U.S. version of Budweiser this year.

Amazon wins dismissal of App Store false-ad claim by Apple.

Apple "bet" energizes AT&T.

China recovery confidence spurs Hong Kong luxury sales.Continue reading...

"Has Coca Cola ceased to be a mere brand and evolved into a historically important cultural artifact?" That question was tweeted by Duncan Jones, David Bowie's son who is better known these days as an award-winning filmmaker. Jones included a link to a BBC story on this week's historic return of the Coke brand to Myanmar, making its first delivery in more than 60 years.

"The Coca-Cola Company has been a part of the community fabric in countries around the world for decades," stated Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company. "In every nation and city where we do business, our employees strive to create economic value and build sustainable communities. We are privileged to once again have the opportunity to play a role in building a better future with the people of Myanmar."

In addition to referencing the Coca-Cola brand's position as the #1 brand in Interbrand's 2011 Best Global Brands report, the BBC notes that there are now "only two countries where Coca-Cola is not officially bought or sold - Cuba and North Korea ... due to trade embargoes with the US."

PepsiCo, meanwhile, last month signed its own distribution agreement to distribute Pepsi and its other beverage brands in the former Burma, with CEO Indra Nooyi commenting, "Over time, we believe we can build a strong business in Myanmar and play a positive role in the country's continued development."

Whatever that future holds, Nooyi announced other news today that impacts her company's continued development and her own succession plans: the resignation of PepsiCo president John Compton.

He's being replaced by Geneva-based PepsiCo Europe CEO Zein Abdalla, who is relocating to company HQ in Purchase, NY, and in turn handing over his office and title to Enderson Guimaraes, the current President of PepsiCo's Global Nutrition Group.

There’s a new sheriff in town in North Korea — supreme leader Kim Jong Un, who took over office when his father, Kim Jong-il, died last December — and he’d like the world to think that the nation isn’t half as bad as everybody thinks it is.

But now the son, who is in his late 20s, wants to shake things up and modernize the nation's branding. Since taking the reins, according to the UK's Daily Mail — which lifted the story from ABC News — “more women are wearing trousers, platform shoes and earrings, while more mobile phones have been made available.” Live it up, North Koreans! 

Pizza, hamburgers, and French fries, previously banned, have now been endorsed by the Supreme Leader, ABC noted, while kids have been given “free trips to zoos and amusement parks.”Continue reading...

Al Gore promotes "sustainable capitalism."

Apple aims to reimagine TV and how we consume media, while graphic novel imagines Steve Jobs' design thinking.

AT&T's dream to acquire T-Mobile's US operation may be over.

Barclays enables charitable giving with the tap of a card.

BT files patent suit against Google.

Disney and Atlanta Braves are involved in a trademark dispute.

Facebook sues a different Mark Zuckerberg, sees profits hit $1B ahead of IPO.

Goldman Sachs rises as finance powerhouse.

History Channel struggles at the top.

Jersey Shore's Snooki sued by branding partner.

Morton's steakhouse chain finds a buyer.Continue reading...

The United States is still unhappy with North Korea for its apparent bombing of a South Korean ship last year. And let's not forget that the country doesn’t have what you might call a stellar human-rights record. And, if that weren’t enough, North Korea’s head honcho Kim Jong-il is considered by most to be a complete lunatic.

But the Almighty Dollar is strong and there are more than 24 million people who live there. Surely, they need some fried chicken ... and something to wash it down with? A BC reader down under flags this nugget: a report by Australian broadcaster ABC that KFC and Coca-Cola “will open outlets in the communist North later this year.”

After the Associated Press was recently allowed to open an office in the country, which prefers to be known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, word circulated that the Colonel and Coke are being welcomed.Continue reading...