With its Eminem commercial during the Super Bowl for the new 200 sedan, and for the reinvented company, Chrysler brand CMO Olivier Francois put a stake in the ground around a bold new positioning he called “Imported from Detroit.”

It worked. The first of a series of planned new offerings under the Chrysler-brand wing-spread logo, sales of the 200 in April were up 23% over March, and Chrysler reportedly is considering adding a shift at the Michigan plant that assembles the model. Even more important, the Chrysler brand and product line has returned to the national buzz — in a highly positive sense — less than two years after the company took a federal-government bailout and turned itself over to Fiat.

Now, Francois is attempting to move that stake out a bit further with a new campaign for the new 300 sedan that builds on the "Imported from Detroit" positioning.Continue reading...

Foursquare staffers thank fans worldwide who will be celebrating Foursquare Day today. Click here for a list of local events, meet-ups and other socializing by social media mavens in locations including New York, Bangalore, Portland OR, Seoul and other cities.

Activities today include, as Foursquare tweeted, "NYC: double-decker bus tour; Portland/SF: raising money for Japan; Bologna, Italy: 4sq quiz!"

Portland, Oregon, and Portland, Maine, have enjoyed a friendly east coast/west coast rivalry in America, and no small amount of confusion. Portlandia, a new comedy series that debuts tonight on IFC, aims to establish the Oregonian outpost as the hipster, foodie, bird-branded alt lifestyle mecca of the two. That's not necessarily a good thing, but it is a funny thing. The mayor of Portland even makes a cameo — as the assistant mayor.

As a satire, the sketch comedy series (produced by Saturday Night Live executive producer Lorne Michaels) spoofs a variety of slacker hangouts (feminist bookstores, cafes and the like) and slackers counterculture flakiness. In that sense, it could be Austin, TX; San Francisco or Berkeley, CA; parts of Brooklyn in NY; or Chicago's Wicker Park. As IFC GM Jen Caserta told the New York Times, "It's about Portland, but there's a piece of Portland in many parts of the country."

The six-part series, co-starring Fred Armisen of SNL and Carrie Brownstein of the now defunct Portland band Sleater-Kinney, was written by the duo along with writers from The Colbert Report and SNL. The Times adds, "The show’s creators are also bracing for reaction from the citizens of its namesake city. But Ms. Brownstein said that for sheer unpredictability the characters of Portlandia could never surpass Portland itself. 'The strange thing we all noticed,' she said, 'is no matter how far out on a limb we went, we always ran into that person within two days.'

Portlandia is sponsored by Zipcar and Aloft Hotels, and also premieres with The Onion News Network, marking The Onion's network TV debut. 

In an effort to modernize their brands and attract tourism dollars, many cities are adopting "green" campaigns aimed at reducing pollution, promoting health, and demonstrating concern for the environment.

Mexico City recently launched an official public bike-sharing program, which will initially include 85 stations and over 1,000 bikes. Participation costs 300 pesos ($23) a year, and bikes can be taken for 30 minutes a ride. After only a few days, over 1,000 people have already signed up.

The program is similar to those that have successfully launched in Washington D.C. and Barcelona. The first city to try anything of the sort was Portland, Oregon, which provided hundreds of used bikes to its inhabitants, which were scattered all over the downtown area. Riders could simply use the bikes when they wanted, then leave them for others to use. A similar attempt was made in New York City, but within a few days all the bikes were stolen.Continue reading...