BP given 72 hours to come up with contingency plans as its claims process was criticized by U.S. Coast Guard, which today toughened its oversight. [Today's BP Watch]

Apple bans competing ads from the iPhone.

British Airways may see more strikes this summer.

Chips Ahoy among snack foods permitted into Gaza by Israeli troops.

CVS Caremark will stop reimbursing Walgreen prescriptions in the U.S.Continue reading...

With its place in the lexicon as a verb and noun, Google is considered by many brand marketers to be the de facto standard for Internet search.

It stands to reason that a consumer who searches for a brand by name will expect to find it high up in Google's search results. But what happens when a consumer searches for a generic term, such as "life insurance"? Will the top life insurance brands show up in prime positions on the results page?

Not always, according to a recent study by Covario, an interactive marketing analytics firm. The study finds that even top brand names are "hiding" on Google. Covario looked at three key indicators -- content usage, link strategy and technical construction -- and saw dramatically different results for different brand names, reports Ad Age.

Take the search term "home repair," for example. Where would you expect Home Depot to rank on the first page of Google search results?Continue reading...

For years, luxury brands and hot-selling products have faced a chronic problem unrelated to the economy: counterfeits. But in today's money-tight market, cheap fakes of such brands as Chanel, Gucci, Rolex, and Tiffany are more popular than ever.

That's why the city of New York is taking swift action during this holiday season. In the last two days, New York police have raided locations in Manhattan's Chinatown, an area in which counterfeit brands are as common as city traffic lights. The raids came about through a special crime unit that has been making uncover purchases of counterfeit goods, and the operation has already resulted in the seizure of $1 million worth of fake bags and watches.Continue reading...

Waterford, which provides the crystal ball that descends in Times Square every New Year’s Eve, has its own brand resolution for 2010: more sparkle.

The ad copy on a new poster for Waterford crystal, starring a pair of champagne flutes, reads:

When two people are meant for each other to come together, you can see it. It’s a sparkle that lights up a room. A sparkle that grows brighter with each passing year. The sparkle of a new beginning.

The poster could be optimistically referring to Waterford itself, which is undergoing its own “new beginning” and hopes that its $2.5 million ad campaign will result in a very sparkly 2010.

The 250-year-old Dublin-based subsidiary of WWRD Holdings, which also owns other brands you’ll find in your grandparents’ curio cabinet (Wedgewood and Royal Dalton), was placed into administration (UK equivalent of bankruptcy protection) in February at a time when consumers are forgoing the $275 candlesticks (now on sale for $129).Continue reading...

It's make-or-break time for many brands, especially retail ones. Wal-Mart and Amazon have started World War III, and Best Buy needs good numbers. Also, everyone from JC Penney to Sears to Radio Shack to Kohl's needs consumers to loosen the purse strings. A retail brand with nothing to worry about this year? Circuit City.

So, how bad could it be? Check out Gizmodo's Black Friday disaster photoshop contest. Or, you know, for less photoshopped, more "real" disaster potential, check out the stock performance of retailers before the market closes, maybe mercifully, at noon. Target, Sears, Tiffany & Co., J Crew, and Best Buy were all gainers on Wednesday's close but, thanks to the Dubai mess, every stock is down this morning.

Anyway, let's see how it's going so far...

In California, some Best Buys are reporting over 1,000 people lined up for 5:00 am openings. And flatscreen TVs. That's the story so far. People are really after the flatscreen TV deals. One TV deal that nobody will be getting? Sears' a 54-inch 1080p HDTV for $399.99:

"WHOOPS! The email we sent you Monday had the wrong TV offer in it! We are not offering a Panasonic 54" class 1080p 600Hz plasma HDTV for $399.99. We apologize for this mistake and assure you that we are taking every step to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Business Insider has an outstanding round-up of Tweets from this morning's Black Friday openings (warning: a couple feature harsh language). The site also has an early morning collection of reports from the front lines:

"Aurora, Illinois: 'Black Friday shoppers got an early start this year, causing a 2-mile traffic back-up near Chicago Premium Outlets in Aurora...Starting about 11 p.m. Thursday, cars began lining up to get into the mall, according to Illinois State Police...The mall opened at midnight, and the heavy traffic remained for several hours, State Police said.'"

Elsewhere, it appears shoppers are not dissuaded and are doing the rounds:

"The friends said they had been shopping all night, starting at Toys "R" Us, which opened at midnight. They said they arrived there at 11 p.m., but didn’t get in until 12:30 a.m. After that, they stopped at Wal-Mart, which was open all night but had special sales starting at 5 a.m. Even after the full night of shopping, Woodring and Metcalfe said they hadn’t quite checked everyone off their gift-buying lists.

'We’re getting there,' Woodring said."

And those Zhu Zhu hamsters? They just might save Toys "R" Us's bacon. Good grief:

"Zhu Zhu fanatics were so numerous on Thanksgiving night, that they were given their own line in front of the flagship Toys R Us store in New York's Times Square. Hundreds of shoppers queued for hours ahead of the midnight opening, specifically so they could get their hands on the robotic rodents."

But for those shoppers who are getting late starts, the best deals are already gone, including those Zhu Zhu hamsters. Target's Leap Frog Fridge Magnets are gone. Wal-Mart's $98 Nintendo DS Lite is sold out. It's 50-inch TV and Rock Star game deals? Ditto. But Wal-Mart clerks in Georgia said "$2 bath towels, kitchen items and children's toys were also selling well."

So where might late-rising (hungover?) shoppers want to turn now? Amazon.com:

With an estimate of 5% more shoppers participating this year over last, most early estimates are for a better retail season. Early reports from Grapevine Mills in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas indicate stores are already seeing double-digit increase in sales over last year's Black Friday. If that holds even partly true for many other retailers and brands, this could be a very happy holiday indeed.

This will especially be the case if a successful Black Holiday manages to "brand" the retail season. That is to say, if consumers hear positive reports about other consumers being very confident this season, about how the worst is all behind them, about how the deals are too good to pass up, they might be more likely to have a positive outlook themselves. Like any strong brand, it's infectious.

For all Black Friday Live! posts go to the Black Friday Live! tag.

As the US celebrates Thanksgiving, brandchannel is thankful to our loyal readers and commenters who have seen us through our relaunch. Here are some other brands who have reason to be thankful this year:

Myspace to Facebook: Thanks for the ad(d)!

Thanks to Toys "R" Us, FAO Schwarz lives.

Volvo is happy for the teenage fans of the Twilight series.

Starbucks' CEO sent McDonald's McCafé a venti thank you.

Google, Motorola, and Verizon give thanks for strong Droid sales.

Thankful Goldman Sachs announced a $500 million assistance program.

Kids and parents are thankful for Nickelodeon’s “Yo Gabba Gabba.”

Designer Alexander Wang is thankful for winning the Swiss Textiles Award.

The whole world is grateful that fashion prevailed over terrorism in Pakistan.

Alaskan salmon are thankful for Tiffany's leadership of a luxury industry boycott.

Check back tomorrow for Abe Sauer's coverage of the Black Friday holiday craziness, and we may find out whether consumers and retailers will have a holiday season to be thankful for!

Posting will be light on brandchannel today for the US holiday. Tune in tomorrow for all of Abe Sauer's Black Friday coverage!

Beijing Auto may purchase Saab to finally gain access to foreign technology. [WSJ]

Toyota plans to recall 4 million vehicles with faulty gas pedals. [NY Times]

GM will not close Opel plants in Germany. [NY Times]

France Telecom will merge Sunrise and Orange Switzerland to challenge Swisscom. [NY Times]

Tesco to sell iPhone before Christmas in UK, launching price war. [Telegraph]

Eschewing "Black Friday," luxury retailers offer deals online. [NY Times]

"Cyber Monday" loses steam. [LA Times]

(More headlines:Tiffany, GE's NBC deal, Porsche losses.)Continue reading...

Tiffany & Company’s iconic blue box has long carried the tradition of revealing the quintessential diamond: a gift of timeless beauty, elegance, and world-class quality expected from a luxury brand with roots dating back to 1837. But the Wall Street Journal reports that not every Tiffany diamond is making the cut these days. Often, the precious gems are now being crafted by “the industry's least-experienced hands”:

In a windowless factory in this African village, Tiffany is teaching more than 80 workers to transform raw diamonds into gems for Tiffany engagement rings. As novices recently pressed pea-size stones against whirling blades, a visiting Tiffany executive spied a problem.

"You can see the polishing lines!" said Mark Hanna, an Antwerp, Belgium-based vice president of Tiffany's diamond unit. "Tiffany diamonds can't have polishing lines."

Earlier this decade, the diamond industry saw a surge in demand. Fearing the diamond supply was dwinding, and with mining giants like De Beers moving into the retail space by joining forces with LVMH, Tiffany felt it was necessary to move its operations further down its supply chain in order to compete.Continue reading...

Android operating system woos major cellphone makers away from competition. [NY Times]

Can Verizon's Droid dethrone the iPhone? [Ad Age]

HTC smartphone launches big campaign in UK and US. [Brand Republic]

Ford rises above wounded competitors, gains 5% market share. [WSJ]

GM and Chrysler upend marketing strategies. [FT]

"Smart Choices" food label program has been suspended by the FDA. [Chicago Tribune]

Disney issues refunds for "Baby Einstein" products. [NY Times]

Movie studios begin to divulge plans for DVD alternatives. [NY Times]

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen launch juniors line available at JC Penney. [WWD]

(More headlines: Eisner's web studion, Heineken, VW.)Continue reading...

The hue of Tiffany's signature blue boxes may verge slightly toward green. But who would have expected the jewelry giant to lead a green revolt against one of its own potential suppliers?

Four luxury companies, including a pair of class-ring manufacturers, have joined some of America’s top jewelry brands in boycotting the use of any gold extracted from Pebble Mine, a mineral exploration project in Alaska that critics say will disrupt the world's most productive salmon fishery. Tiffany & Co. is leading the list of brands representing nearly $4 billion in annual sales.Continue reading...