PPR, the multinational holding company that is home to brands including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Brioni and Sergio Rossi, is rebranding as Kering, indicative of a transformation from French conglomerate to internationally focused sportswear (encompassing its brands including Puma, Tretorn and Volcom) and luxury-goods group. 

The new name, accompanied by an owl logo and tagline, "Empowering Imagination," is pronounced "caring." CEO Francois-Henri Pinault explains, "We are there to care for the brand and take care of the brand," the Wall Street Journal reports.

Pinault carries on his father’s legacy as founder with the new name, which a press release explains was inspired by family roots in France's Brittany region as "Ker" meaning home in Breton, with the action-associated "ing" implying "doing" and "going."

Manfredi Ricca, the managing director at Interbrand in Milan, commented to the International Herald Tribune that the new identity reflects an awareness that companies need “a strong angle on what they stand for,” both for consumers and for employees, to demonstrate their “overarching vision” and values.Continue reading...

Burger King today unveiled the post-celebrity kick-off to its summer campaign: "Barbecue Day." The description: "Summer time is all about great food, good company and fun! This is the time of year we all look forward to. It’s BBQ time friends! Let’s have a BBQ today at BURGER KING®!" 

Click here to watch its new commercial, and take a look back at its (somewhat) controversial, just-wrapped celebrity-studded campaign for its new menu below.Continue reading...

Burger King made a splash with its celeb-laden new campaign that debuted two weeks ago, featuring Jay Leno, David Beckham, Salma Hayek and a Mary J. Blige commercial that resulted in a "She said/BK said" flap.

Today the burger chain adds Sofia Vergara to that list, with a Spanish-language commercial that touts its Garden Fresh Salad as one of its healthier new menu items — click here to watch — joining Hayek's bilingual, character-packed pitch for BK's salad, chicken wraps and crispy chicken strips: a Spanish-language, salad-touting spot for Hispanic-targeted TV channels, and a companion English-language version.

Rocawear's first ever TV commercial features founder Jay-Z, above. In other celebrity brandcasting today, Burger King's new commercials feature Mary J. Blige, David Beckham, Jay Leno, and Salma Hayek promoting BK's 10 new menu items, its biggest menu expansion since 1954, which debuts today.Continue reading...

In late 1993, what would become one of the best-known ad campaigns of all time launched with the California Milk Processor Board's marketing campaign and slogan, "got milk?" Since then, the tagline has had unequaled staying power. Ads featuring celebrities with "milk mustaches" have become globally recognized and a stamp of approval validating an array of entertainers' personal brands.

The campaign did something else, too — it made milk relevant again. It pumped up milk's consumption, an objective which continues to be at the heart of the "got milk?' campaign today. But in contemporary terms, the milk brand needed another kind of update, one that embraced the growing Hispanic demographic in the U.S.

That's why the latest iteration of "got milk?" features the Hispanic actress Salma Hayek. Hayek not only wears the famous milk mustache, she also becomes the first bilingual spokesperson for the campaign.Continue reading...

• Go ahead, customize that 2013 Mustang — but watch out for the little ballerina with the inner Black Swan.

• "For sale - a willing and able permanent or temporary employee." Unemployed woman auctions herself on eBay.

• "Eyevertising!" Unemployed Londoner offers ad space ... on his eye.

Below, check out Funny or Die's Kia Optima spoof with Blake Griffin and Jeff Goldblum; Salma Hayek's midnight run for the Milk Mustache campaign; will.i.am drives buzz for Chrysler; and more.Continue reading...

Airbus and Boeing are building too many planes, plane-leasing exec warns.

Amazon pulls some independent titles from Kindle in dispute.

Campbell Soup counts on new products for turnaround.

Fuller Brush files for bankruptcy.

GM hopes Peugeot can help solve riddle of European market.

Google agrees to add "Do Not Track" button and support coalition of Internet companies.

HP continues struggles with PC business.

Hyundai prepares for its own show during Oscars.Continue reading...

Known almost as much for his personal life (Salma Hayek's new husband, he's profiled in today's Wall Street Journal) as his public one, PPR owner François-Henri Pinault is looking to sell some of his less glamorous brands in an effort to pay off debts. The businesses that will be pushed aside happen to generate 70% of group sales, but Pinault's goal is to focus on the clothing and accessories brands within its luxury Gucci Group and Puma. FT reports:

He is not interested in slimming PPR down to a pure luxury player and is looking to replace the lower-margin retail businesses with mid-market brands.

Out with the old and in with the new, wouldn't you say?Continue reading...