Happy April Fool's Day! If you thought your favorite brands were too serious and focused on great products and innovation to have a laugh or two, think again. Here's a roundup of some social media jokes from YouTube, Honda, Twitter and even the little town of Ely, Minn. 

Be honest: did you fall for any of them?Continue reading...

Facebook appears ready to go public with $10 billion IPO in early February, despite ire at leak.

Exxon Mobil sells Japanese subsidiary for $4 billion in move to cut refining.

News Corp. reportedly woos Bloomberg exec as Twitter-happy Murdoch sees weekend arrests at The Sun tabloid.

ABB buys Thomas & Betts for $4 billion.

Angry Birds boss doesn't fear piracy.

Apple aims to sell 40 million iPhones in China next year.

Altria sees tobacco users embrace discount brands.

Bank of America shakes up investment banking division.

Barnes & Noble takes on Amazon with fifth Nook device.

Beyonce sees university class focus on her.Continue reading...

Abbott Labs plans to split into two companies.

American Express equalizes health costs for gay employees.

Citigroup agrees to pay hefty fine to settle securities charges.

Daimler dismissed US. head of Mercedes-Benz over personal expenses.

Eni makes big natural-gas find off coast of Mozambique.

Fox's The X Factor gets off to a slow start.

Frito-Lay draws complaint about "immersive" marketing to kids.

Groupon discounts its IPO valuation.Continue reading...

The Oscars of Advertising, the Cannes Lions festival now taking place in France over seven days and 57 sessions, wraps up on Sunday.

At the Cannes Lions 2011, marketing and advertising innovators, communications ninjas, design savants, digital thought-leaders and other big thinkers come together to inspire, debate, and entertain. From outdoor advertising to media to radio to design, almost all forms of communication are covered, judged, applauded and recognized.

Brandchannel joins in the applause — check out the 2011 Cannes Lions Grand Prix winners below, and stay tuned for an update after the final round of winners are announced on Sunday.Continue reading...

Can Facebook withstand the coming Facebook movie?

Kia and Nissan run ads noting England's World Cup defeat in U.K. newspapers.

McDonald's eyes beverages to take on Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts.Continue reading...

Yes, there is life after Oprah, at least for Oprah. She may be leaving her highly-rated syndicated television talk show, but now she'll be on her OWN – the Oprah Winfrey Network, that is, which will launch in January.

The network, a partnership between Oprah Winfrey and Discovery Communications, will operate 24/7 and replace the Discovery Health Channel in some 80 million U.S. homes.

OWN got a major boost this week as Procter & Gamble, the biggest U.S. advertiser, signed a $100 million advertising deal with the new network. The deal, noted in the The Wall Street Journal, will include advertising and selective product integration on the channel.

The agreement is important for several reasons. It demonstrates that OWN has credibility with an advertising powerhouse whose brands include such consumer classics as Bounty, Cover Girl, Crest, Herbal Essence, Ivory, Mr. Clean, Scope, and Tide. Since P&G is the leading marketer of consumer products, its actions are watched closely by other marketers, who will now likely consider OWN as a viable advertising outlet.

It bodes well for the economy that ad spending is on the rebound for P&G. It's also a major show of support for the staying power of Winfrey's personal brand, particularly as OWN has been under considerable scrutiny since it was announced in 2008.Continue reading...