By leveraging his status as a TV icon to pitch a conservative TV channel in the U.S., Kelsey Grammer is flying in the face of his most famous character: the snobby elitist, Dr. Frasier Crane.

In reality, as the Daily Beast points out, Grammer has "long been one of the few ambassadors of conservatism in Hollywood." By politicizing his personal brand by becoming a pitchman for the nascent RightNetwork, the veteran actor is not shying away from being an outspoken conservative in the decidedly liberal entertainment capital of the world.

"There's wrong, and there's right," begins Grammer in the RightNetwork promo above, a spot that ends with a large red flag-waving tagline: "RightNetwork: All that's right with the world."

The back-story of confusing information surrounding the launch has afforded this fledgling brand more viral buzz than anyone anticipated.Continue reading...

In what surely will continue to be one of the most compelling stories of this U.S. political season, the mainstream news media and Democratic politicians appear to be linking arms to paint the Tea Party movement as a group of extremists who are intent on nothing less than violently overthrowing the U.S. government and doing as much other physical damage to the left as possible along the way.

While this characterization of the Tea Party brand has been building for a while, it reached its crescendo last week when Tea Party protests cropped up all over the country on Tax Day, April 15. Despite slings and arrows from the left, including national media outlets and the White House, the populist movement is gaining momentum.

A newly formed national federation is helping to unify its message and clout in Washington. And whether you agree with the movement or not, it's done a remarkable job establishing its brand and generating buzz, from the grassroots up to the Hill.Continue reading...

Green marketing is in the spotlight ahead of Earth Day on Thursday; Earth Day's 2010 sponsors include P&G, Siemens, Wells Fargo, UPS, and Philips. [Brandweek | TreeHugger]

Toyota is set to agree to a $16.4 million fine today for not telling U.S. officials about a pedal defect. On Friday, the automaker recalled 600,000 minivans over rust problems, and confirmed safety concerns with its Lexus GX 460 model SUV. [AP | USA Today]

KLM, Lufthansa, and British Airways test flights are giving hope to the millions of passengers grounded by Iceland's volcanic ash. European transport ministers meet today to discuss resuming air travel. Air France, meanwhile, appears to be weathering the disruption. [BBC | NYT | CNN | Businessweek]

American, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, US Airways and JetBlue won't charge for carry-on luggage. [AP]

GM took church-goers for a Sunday drive yesterday. [Detroit Free Press]

ESPN seeks to dominate the sports circuit by purchasing NCAA basketball. [Business Insider]Continue reading...