Four musical icons, Gloria Estefan, Joe Jonas, John Rich and Nelly, have 72 hours to turn average folks into superstars on The Next, The CW network’s newest music reality show. It's premiering this Thursday with Queen Latifah on-board as a producer — and sponsorship by pre-paid mobile carrier Cricket's Muve Music, marking its first branded entertainment TV partnership.

As a ‘challenger brand,’ Cricket is the seventh largest wireless telecommunications network in the U.S., serving seven million plus customers and differentiating its brand by relying on music and entertainment to stand out in the pre-paid space. This new partnership with The Next is the brand’s pre-emptive move as the turf battle for wireless customers heats up.Continue reading...

With its latest collaboration, Target is going from Missoni to Tony. It's not exactly resurrecting the Rat Pack, but the retailer's new deal with Tony Bennett underscores one thing: Retro is cool.

The mass retailer has always been known for pace-setting deals with, for example, name product designers that have kept Target on the watch lists of style-conscious young women — and typically out of the same sentence with "Walmart." Target's hit (and sold out) collaboration with Missoni is the latest example of that.

While its exclusive promotion with the 85-year-old crooner isn't quite on the Missoni scale, this one also involves a collaboration with a venerable brand of Italian descent. In announcing that it will offer an exclusive version of Tony Bennett's new studio album, Duets II, beginning today, Target is laying down yet another marker of its cultural relevance.Continue reading...

Allstate and other insurers brace for disaster claims.

Amazon finds a fierce bidder in Liberty Media's John Malone.

Armani bucks trend, vows to stay private.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America embrace social media.

British Airways among European airlines impacted by Iceland volcanic ash.

Camel Snus target smoke-restricted NYC.

Coach finds buyers returning to priciest bags.Continue reading...

The Queen is partnering with AOL.

Queen Latifah, shown in all her glory above at the People's Choice Awards, has announced she will produce an original web series for AOL. Her production company, Flavor Unit Entertainment, will executive produce while Latifah will star in the series, that will be featured across the AOL Network with a special hub on AOL’s Blackvoices.com.Continue reading...

Before we get to this week's quiz or this week's look at the battling beer placements in this week's two big releases, The Green Hornet (starring Seth Rogen) and The Dilemma (featuring Vince Vaughn and Kevin James), kick back and take in the above snapshot of beer brands and product placement put together for the blog Filmdrunk.

Done? Good. Now let's look at all the intriguing product placement around this week's dueling "tall doofus" films, including a "ooh" at what could have been, with an attractive offer to replace Green Hornet's iconic Imperial Crown with a Beemer.Continue reading...

CoverGirl's newest brand ambassador, Taylor Swift, joins Queen Latifah and Ellen DeGeneres to help launch MyCoverGirl, the brand's new year-long Facebook promotion, in a spot that debuted Friday. Fans who 'like' the brand on Facebook will be entered in a draw for a chance to dance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Additional prizes throughout the year include free samples and a chance to meet the other celeb spokesmodels (including the not-shown Drew Barrymore). The brand is donating $1 to Make-A-Wish Foundation for the first 50,000 fans who participate.

Swift's first CoverGirl commercials, touting the P&G-owned brand's first luxury line — NatureLuxe, which launches this month — also highlight the new FB promotion.Continue reading...