"A friendly reminder: Kyochon Restaurant's chicken is all supplied by the Tyson Company of America. All chicken products pass strict inspection and quarantine and quality controls. All chicken products are cooked above 174° C for more than 15-18 minutes and are freshly prepared. So, everyone has nothing to worry about."

So read the second of two Weibo messages posted Sunday about H7N9 from the South Korean fried chicken chain Kyochon, the first of which asked and answered the question, "Recently, is it true one shouldn't eat chicken?" 

Meanwhile, on Tyson's Weibo account, the chicken supplier similarly asked, "Recently H7N9 avian flu has everyone running scared, should poultry and livestock meat be avoided?" Then there's KFC. Poor, poor KFC.Continue reading...

Hostess liquidation sees opportunists stock up on Twinkies as future of its brands hangs in balance and unions cling to hope of a buyer.

BP seen as takeover target now, as valuation slides.

GM opens $1.3 billion China plant for Baojun budget brand.

Ben & Jerry's turns fans' Instagram pictures into ads.

CCTV ad haul for Chinese television bodes well for economy.

Cisco to buy networking-hardware company Meraki for $1.2 billion.

Citigroup to cut more jobs.

Dish Network is frustrated in dream of breaking into wireless.Continue reading...

Vows review after captain goes berserk in mid-air (and a New York Post punning cover).

Los Angeles Dodgers sell for record $2 billion to group including Magic Johnson.

Foxconn banks on Apple future with Sharp investment. And in other news:

Airbus faces more woes as A380s abandon flights.

BATS chairman plans to give up post.

Bank of America turns focus to overseas markets.

Budweiser snags naming rights at Texas Rangers' center field.

EBay targets growth in India.

Fox pulls trailer for Ben Stiller movie Neighborhood Watch in wake of Trayvon Martin death.

GM consolidates global Chevrolet ad account with Omnicom and Interpublic.Continue reading...

Sometimes a big brand's family of products can be so overwhelming that consumers forget they're all made by the same company. That's why Hormel's new ad campaign is pitching "its whole Hormel-branded portfolio" – to educate consumers about the brand's various offerings and encourage them to buy more than just a few favorite products.

"We call it 'pulling the blanket off the brand,'" says Brian Kroening, executive creative director of Hormel's ad agency. He says the campaign is intended to show consumers "that there were more parts to the brand than they had in their homes."Continue reading...