China is the second latest economy in the world, every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse!); but who's got the time?!  A weekly potpourri of ten reads that will make you look like a keen China observer during any conversation about China.

This week Estée Lauder, Weibo, Foxconn, Yum!, Walmart, McKinsey on consumer changes and more...Continue reading...

Ad Age honors China's women to watch.

AT&T faced with technicians' class action suit; promotes anti-texting campaign.

Axe brand releases music track.

Ben & Jerry's gets a boost on Robert Pattinson's The Daily Show segment.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supports next-generation toilets.

Condoleeza Rice and Serena Williams endorse new NFL women's clothing line.

Facebook tests promoted newsfeed posts for non-fans.Continue reading...

The tobacco industry spent $10 billion on marketing in 2008, according to the FTC, and a good part of the portion being spent in California was targeted at low-income and African-American youth, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

If you’re an African-American high schooler in the Golden State, you may have noticed the advertising for menthol cigarettes that aren’t far from the school. Researchers that are funded by the state of California found that such ads were more prominently displayed when they were in proximity to a school that served the African-American community, the Union-Tribune adds.Continue reading...

What's in a name? Kraft Foods is about to find out, after announcing today that Mondelēz International is the moniker of the corporate global snack-foods unit that it will spin off by the end of this year, as announced last August.

"Mondelay," you say? Nay, nay! No need to dust off your high school French. The new name — pronounced "Mohn-dah-LEEZ" — is a Kraft-coined word that, the company explained in a press release, is intended to evoke the idea of "delicious world."

"Monde" derives from the Latin (and French) word for "world," the company explained, and "dēlez" is a "fanciful expression of 'delicious.'" And, of course, "International" captures "the global nature of the business."

Even though it won't be consumer-facing, pronunciation will be a challenge ("mon-de-lay," "mon-de-less," or "mon-de-leez"?) for the new name which was, as it turns out, employee-sourced.

Last fall, Kraft invited staffers around the world to suggest names and received suggestions from more than 1,000 employees. The winner was inspired by separate suggestions from two employees, one in North America and one in Europe.Continue reading...

More and more rules and regulations are popping up across the U.S. that make it more difficult, more expensive, and often both of those things for Americans to enjoy their tobacco products. Over the years, there have been plenty of organizations and events that attempt to help people put an end to smoking in their lives and others.

Now the Altria Group has launched a website that can help consumers keep track of everything that’s going on to curtail smoking. But given that it's a digital marketing move from the cigarette maker formerly known as The Philip Morris Companies Inc., it's suggesting ways for smokers not to quit, but how to fight back by voting for candidates who are sympathetic with the tobacco industry.Continue reading...

Since Australia passed legislation that will force tobacco companies to sell all of their products in brand name-free, plain green packaging with such heartwarming statements as “Smoking causes blindness” or “Don’t let children breathe your smoke” (and are accompanied by equally pleasant images), tobacco companies have been in a bit of snit.

On Tuesday, Philip Morris Asia became the third tobacco giant, along with British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco, to file suit in the country’s High Court to try and put a stop to such an effort, Reuters reports.

The new legislation in Australia “is being closely watched by governments considering similar moves in Europe, Canada, and New Zealand,” Reuters notes, which is part of the reason why the tobacco companies are getting all worked up about it. But Philip Morris claims it has other reasons as well.Continue reading...

Arnold Palmer re-brands for a generation who never knew the golfing legend.

Audiovox rebrands to Voxx International.

BlackBerry-maker RIM warns about profit outlook.

BMW and Mercedes-Benz race to the wire for 2011 luxury-sales crown in U.S.

Boeing takes its Dreamliner on a "world tour."

Chick-fil-A spat with t-shirt maker hits the New York Times.

Corona brings beach experience to London.Continue reading...

Tobacco giant Philip Morris isn't one to dawdle. As soon as Australia's controversial mandatory "plain packaging" for cigarette brands (examples above) were passed on Nov. 21st, Morris launched a multi-billion-dollar legal action against the Federal Government. 

The country's Health Minister Nicola Roxon called it a "great day for Australia," while Philip Morris Asia (which oversees its brands sales in Australia) announced it would fight tooth and nail to challenge the laws both domestically and internationally.

“We are left with no option," said Philip Morris Asia spokesperson Anne Edwards in a press release. "The Government has passed this legislation despite being unable to demonstrate that it will be effective at reducing smoking and has ignored the widespread concerns raised in Australia and internationally regarding the serious legal issues associated with plain packaging.”Continue reading...