New York mayor Michael Bloomberg unveils $12 million ad campaign (above) for Mayors Against Illegal Guns that lobbies for background checks to reduce gun violence, while NYC's municipal data geek squad makes headlines.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz defends same-sex marriage support to shareholders as brand expands loyalty rewards to other retailers.

PepsiCo shares jump on Mondelez merger speculation sparked by Telegraph story which Pepsi "downplays."

Apple acquires indoor GPS startup WiFiSLAM for mapping, patents iPhone drop protection technology and faces EU scrutiny following iPhone and iPad distribution complaints — and may report first quarterly dip since 2003.

FTC "pay for delay" generic drug case, set to go before US Supreme Court on Monday, will be closely watched by pharmaceutical industry and economists.

Below: BlackBerry, Blockbuster, Dell, Diageo and other brands in the news —Continue reading...

Oscar Pistorius was a man once known for being the fastest double-leg amputee on the planet. Now that the so-called Blade Runner has been charged with murder for the shooting death of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp early Valentine’s Day morning, his sponsors, who pay out about $2 million to Pistorius annually, are moving just as quickly as Pistorius to figure out how to deal with the sudden PR nightmare.

Nike’s attachment to Pistorius was compounded by the fact that an ad featuring the Olympian used the tagline, “I’m the bullet in the chamber.” It was pulled from Pistorius’s website on Thursday, Ad Age reports. The victim's tweets before her murder also created a social media nightmare for anyone or any company attached to the paralympic athlete.

"Nike extends its deepest sympathy and condolences to all families concerned following this tragic incident," his sponsor said in a statement. "As it is a police matter, Nike will not comment further at this time." Two other sponsors, Oakley and BP Global, both used the word “shocked” in their statements on the issue. Thierry Mugler fragrances had nothing to say other than it was waiting to see what happens with the investigation.

British Telecom, better known as BT, also went the “appalled” route with its statement: "Our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragedy. Given the ongoing legal proceedings, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further."Continue reading...

We have an update on a story we published earlier this week about the confusion arising between South Africa's 466/64 Fashion line, which is launching in the U.S. and plans to stage a show at New York Fashion Week next month, and the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

According to Erin Patton, CEO of Company B — the exclusive license holder for 466/64 Fashion in North America — the company never claimed the direct involvement of Mandela or his foundation in 466/64. As Patton was quoted by WWD on Aug. 2nd, Mandela "is not directly involved. That was never intimated. All the press materials say it was inspired by him." (Italics ours.) As Patton also told the Daily Beast, "We have a guarded approach so that we are not overly commercializing his image."

To counter the claims to the contrary by the North American representatives for the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Dallas, Texas-based Patton asked us to share a statement by Sello Hatang, a spokesperson for the Mandela Foundation in South Africa, to clarify the backstory to the clothing line.Continue reading...

Update: This story has been updated with statements from the Nelson Mandela Foundation and Company B, which holds the license for 466/64 Fashion in North America — click here for our update.

Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison, many of them wearing the ID number 466/64 on Robben Island, which is not far from Cape Town, South Africa. Along the way, he became a symbol for democracy and the anti-apartheid movement, and is now upheld worldwide as an elder statesman.

That prison ID number, though, has ended up sinking Mandela into the world of crass commercialism. 466/64 Fashion is a relatively new fashion line (it just launched in the U.S. on July 18th — Mandela's 94th birthday) that had sold itself as either being overseen by Mandela or at least involving him along with claiming that it would give some of its proceeds to a Mandela charity (see its Facebook banner, above). 

The word from Mandela's reps, however, is that he has nothing to do with any of it — and did not spend 27 years in jail for a fashion label.Continue reading...

Volkswagen acquires remaining Porsche stake for nearly $6 billion.

Aetna and California doctors face off over business practices.

Barclays former CEO apologizes in grilling by U.K. lawmakers.

Alibaba clamps down on staff corruption.

Avon introduces his and her fragrances with Jon Bon Jovi's help.

BBC names new director general.

Best Buy makes its stores look sleeker.

Boeing plans new green technologies.Continue reading...

CIA field agents secretly stationed in South Africa probably use iPhones, right?

Well, in the world of this week's new #1 movie, Safe House, they sure do. It's just one more product placement victory for Apple, which just ran away with the top award at the annual Product Placement Awards. What's more, the placement in Safe House already puts the brand in four of 2012's eight top films, a full 50 percent of the #1 movies so far this year.

Apple isn't the only notable "brand" in Safe House, which co-stars Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington. BMW finds a way into the film throughout the action, including shiny sedans and a BMW motorcycle ridden by the star at the beginning of the movie.

And you know your car chase scene rocks when the BBC's iconic Top Gear series finds it worth mentioning. Top Gear's webpage compliments the scene for involving "a battered maroon E32 BMW 735i."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...

The Notebook Company sells a variety of computers to consumers in South Africa, but Dell apparently isn’t interested in the company using its logo to sell its products.

According to South Africa’s ITweb, “Dell has insisted that all its logos be removed from notebook retailer The Notebook Company's Web sites. The retailer says it seems the situation will head to a trademark dispute between the companies.”

TNC’s Managing Director, Christopher Riley, does not see what the issue is.Continue reading...