Brand mascots are perennial Halloween costume favorites (count the number of Angry Birds you spot trick or treating this year!). But just when you thought there coudn't possibly be another way for commercial culture to tap into Halloween, major brands are haunting the occasion with spooktacular tie-ins, including the annual Halloween Google Doodle on the Google homepage today.

OnStar, Kraft, Progressive Insurance, Mike's Hard Lemonade, and Honda are among the legions of brands with Halloween promotions this year. It adds up to a phantasmagoric overload that makes it really difficult for any single brand, promotion or Halloween-themed marketing campaign to stand out from the rest, especially with so many Halloween messages in commercials and TV programming. But it's all in good fun, and hasn't stopped an array of brand marketers from joining the fun.Continue reading...

...goes to Staples' "Wow! That's a Low Price!" commercial (actually one of a series), with 30.6% of the vote. The Consumerist blog received more than 100,000 votes for its first "worst ad in America" awards. Click through for the other winners — er, losers.Continue reading...

Apple faces FTC probe over mobile ads, while its "secrecy irks Congress," says Politico. Apple also buys Siri, a voice tech startup, to compete with Google Voice.

AT&T sent a letter last night to iPad owners, explaining last week's security breach.

Cablevision is buying smaller U.S. cable operator Bresnan Communications.

Cambio, an MTV-style website, launches tomorrow from AOL and the Jonas Brothers.

Polo Ralph Lauren extends Wimbledon sponsorship.Continue reading...

Oprah's self-help guru James Ray charged with manslaughter. [CNN]

Gambler wins, then loses millions to PartyGaming. [Daily Mail]

American Eagle creates a cosmetics line for its Aerie brand. [StyleList]

Gucci saves money, uses images from the 1960s in its new campaign. [WWD]

Monster negotiates to purchase Yahoo's HotJobs website. [NY Times]

Pfizer cuts back on costs for research-and-development. [WSJ]Continue reading...