ABC dismisses rumors of Pan Am's demise.

Amazon continues being coy about Kindle sales.

Apple's Siri can handle Viagra but not abortions.

AT&T disturbed by FCC report.

Audi finds success with youthful marketing.

BBC web redesign goes live in the UK.

Carlsberg acquires Vietnamese brewer.

Google and Facebook ordered to de-index counterfeit domains.

Jack Daniel's holiday campaign celebrates brand's Lynchburg, Tenn. roots.

Janet Jackson teams up with Blackglama to design luxury fur line.

Microsoft Office is reportedly coming to the iPad as Windows tablet hopes fade.Continue reading...

A number of American shows that are running on Canadian TV are being given extra attention by marketers north of the U.S. border in hopes of reaching a whole new audience.

For example, to promote NBC’s Prime Suspect, debut Friday night, Global Television sent out one hundred actresses dressed as detective Jane Timoney, the show’s main character who is portrayed by Mario Bello, into “downtown Toronto as part of a giant flash mob,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.

“The response was terrific. We grabbed their attention, and the actresses were carrying iPads with clips from the show,” said Jason Keown, senior director of marketing at Global.

We get it: flash mobs are cheap, fun, attention-grabbing and traffic-stopping. But given that Toronto is rife with flash mobs, the strategy may be wearing thin. (The fact that we couldn't find a video of this on YouTube shows it may not have been all that impressive to passersby.)

Taking a different tack to stand out, Rogers Media is bringing FOX’s Journey to Terra Nova fan experience bus to Toronto to promote the new Steven Spielberg-blessed series, Terra Nova.Continue reading...

Ikea introduces a nursery… for men. Australian men. We're jealous.

Below, don't miss Tata's "car chase to end all car chases" spot (and more campaigns).Continue reading...

The sleeper hit of the summer, The Help, does not have much by way of product placement. But what it does have, it works, weaving various iconic products from the 1960s into the plot about the struggles of black maids in white households during the turbulent Civil Rights era Mississippi.

Cadillac, Corvettes and Coca-Cola: is there a trifecta of brands more emblematic of America's era of the economic ascension? Coke probably scores the best placement of the film in both prominence and role, as two cold bottles are shared by characters during a heartwarming moment of racial transcendency. In the book, Coca-Cola plays an even more important role, as one maid gets one for her employer to calm her after a miscarriage.Continue reading...

Anheuser-Busch InBev goes back to the drawing board with Bud Light account.

Apple cracks down on U.S. brand counterfeiters; shuns user-tracking tool in new software.

AutoNation dealership staffs to get tablets.

Burger King exiles the King in new commercials.

Ford uses Twitter to engage youth market.

Gatorade grapples with getting its complete lineup on store shelves.

General Electric raises nuclear-proliferation fears by seeking to build uranium-enrichment plant in North Carolina.

General Motors CMO publicly knocks ad work for Chevrolet by new agency Goodby Silversein.Continue reading...

As Renault extends its News of the World ad boycott to other News International titles, News Corp.'s very bad week gets the Taiwanese animation treatment (now with tattooed hipster intro).

Below, Star Wars chic, Apple politicking and more.Continue reading...

Not only does X-Men: First Class — the new #1 film in America, taking in an estimated $56 million over the weekend to topple The Hangover's sequel — rewind the Marvel superhero movie franchise's plot back to the 1960s, but it appears to have taken the marketing strategy from that era as well.

No overt product placement. No high-profile marketing tie-ins. No Happy Meals. No Professor X-branded Big Gulps.

It's like the film is some kind of Hollywood mutant.Continue reading...

While airlines may seem to be cutting back on services and charging for everything from baggage to pillows, there's one little item that remains a hold-over from days gone by — the swag bag.

For decades, airlines have handed out small bags with elite branded amenities to their first class travelers in an effort to treat them deferentially, in much the same way celebrities are showered with gifts when they attend awards shows and other exclusive events.

The subtle difference today, however, is the fact that some airlines are looking to the practice as a new way to generate revenue — by selling the bags to economy-class passengers, and splitting the proceeds with the brands providing the goodie bags.

Peddling first-class travel kits to those seated behind the curtain in economy is a growth industry, it seems.Continue reading...