Advertising Week kicked off in New York Monday morning with a "Memoriam for Advertising." Now Declan Stone may need to update his new Logo R.I.P. book sooner than expected.

If 24/7 Wall Street's soothsayers have an accurate crystal ball, it’s time to slather on some Avon products, pull on some Pacific Sunwear shades and an Oakland Raiders jersey while reading Salon.com’s story about American Airlines on your BlackBerry.

These are six of the 10 brands mentioned in 24/7 Wall Street’s new list of what 10 big name brands could disappear in 2013. The others? MetroPCS, Suzuki, Talbots, and Current TV. 24/7, ever so slightly tongue in cheek but in a wake-up call, too, believes these brands will either be bought out or go out of business before the big ball in Times Square drops at the end of 2013.

According to the website's prognosis, American Airlines is “inefficient.” BlackBerry-maker RIM has “lost its edge.” Pacific Sunwear “no longer has the capital to compete.” At MetroPCS, “investors have abandoned.”

All 10 of the companies suffered from at least one of the following:Continue reading...

GM expected to announce Manchester United sponsorship today.

Nike is selling its Cole Haan and Umbro brands.

RIM shareholders see outright sale as best option for BlackBerry maker.

Amazon may end up sharing California tax as NJ tax collection kicks in.

American Idol owner rebrands.

CBS says Super Bowl advertising is more than half sold.

Caterpillar sees strikers hunkering down.

Chevron is sued in Canada by Amazonians.Continue reading...

Air France plans to streamline operations and reduce staff.

AOL surprised by teen startup squatter.

Butterfinger launches mock conspiracy-hunting mobile tour.

Dish Network squares off with TV programmers over ad-skipping DVR.

Facebook impresses with photo app, while Mark Zuckerberg makes the cover of People and investors hope for refunds as legal challenges to IPO loom.

Ferrari deaths fuel anti-foreigner sentiment in Singapore.

FIFA tests goal line technology.

Jersey Shore's Snooki embroiled in $100M battle with merchandising firm.Continue reading...

GM focuses on Chevrolet and Cadillac and its impending IPO as Buick "very quietly" becomes the fastest growing car brand in the U.S. Detroit is also rebounding. After huge losses and deep cuts that led to the bailout of GM and Chrysler, the gloom over the American auto industry is starting to lift.

Facebook bought semantic search firm Chai Labs for more than $10M, while Google is said to be close to acquiring visual search startup Like.com for $100M+.

Google is launching a New York-based think tank (tentatively called Google Ideas) to develop "technology solutions to problems faced by the developing world."

An Apple employee was arrested Friday for allegedly receiving more than $1 million in kickbacks from six suppliers in Asia.Continue reading...

Toyota's swift handling of Lexus SUV issue includes safety tests on all SUVs. [NY Times | AP]

Coke kicks off Earth Month campaign. [Adweek | DMN News]

Pfizer developing Viagra-like drug for women. [ABC News]

Nike's "Masters' voice" ad the last straw in Tiger Woods' marriage? [People]

Crocs tries to shed its dowdy image. [NY Times]

P&G resumes sponsoring family-friendly prime-time TV movies. [Cincinatti Enquirer] Continue reading...

There was a time when the brand name Talbots represented classic fashion elegance, at least among its upscale middle age demographic. The iconic red door graced the brand's retail shops in exclusive suburban strip malls. But now, says The Wall Street Journal, "Talbots must complete a merchandise and image overhaul aimed at attracting younger customers."

The reason is simple: the Talbots image is tired. Even its own customers think so; in a customer survey conducted a few years ago, women 65 years and older thought the brand appealed to "someone older." That could be one reason Talbots has been bleeding red ink in recent years, piling up hundreds of millions of dollars of debt. Recently, though, Talbots eliminated a lot of that debt, and now it wants to reinvest, remodel, and refresh.Continue reading...

Google wants newspapers to profit from online ads. [AP]

The Facebook search feature gains ground. [Business Insider]

Stevia helps Crystal Light's new campaign. [Brandweek]

Nintendo loses appeal with its DSi XL. [Businessweek]

Toyota could end up paying another large fine. [Daily Finance]

7-Eleven promotes 'Iron Man 2' with cups. [BrandFreak]Continue reading...

Kmart is confident about the future of retail. [Brandweek]

Consumers are regaining trust in retail companies. [Adweek]

FreeCreditReport isn't actually free at all. [Consumerist]

Banning drinking at work made Carlsberg workers mad. [Reuters]

Wal-Mart will cut prices on thousands of products. [WSJ]

Jamie Oliver makes fast food brands nervous. [Daily Finance]Continue reading...