When VH1 got started way back in 1985, the cable TV network followed right in the footsteps of its sibling MTV, although focused its efforts at an older demo. While MTV (short for Music Television) scored big with tunes for adolescents and young adults (Men at Work, anyone?), VH1 (an acronym for Video Hits One) was going for the slightly older crowd, playing music videos featuring the likes of Elton John, Donna Summer, and Rod Stewart.

The thirst for an endless stream of music videos on both Viacom-owned channels came to a halt only a few years into their collective existence and shows with varying levels of quality were cranked out. VH1 scored hits with the annotated Pop-Up Video series, the gossipy tell-all bio series Behind the Music, and the artist-centric VH1 Storytellers. The music in both brands has consistently been drowned out since then with a slew of other programming, inspiring the perennial plea by boomers to bring back the music to MTV and VH1 (season three of IFC's Portlandia kicked off with a plotline to take back MTV from tween with its original VJs and news anchor, Kurt Loder.)

VH1, for one, has decided to indicate that shift with a change in its logo (or as the company likes to call it, "tagmark"). 

As announced at the TCA TV Critics Association press tour, VH1 is kicking off the new year by adding a plus sign to the end of its logo, to reflect the changes in the digital world — meshing together the network’s music, pop culture and nostalgia content together — in tandem with adopting a black-and-white look and feel to its visual identity and on-air promos. It's promoting the new look with, naturally, a #plussed hashtag on Twitter.Continue reading...

Hostess is in talks to sell off bread brands, as makers of Thomas' English muffins and Tastykake snacks emerge as two of the bidders for Wonder Bread according to the Wall Street Journal.

Hulu CEO resigns as web TV startup faces impasse.

NHL resolves labor dispute, faces shortened season.

Apple envy one of Fast Company's suggested New Year's Resolutions for brands.

Bank of America settles with Fannie Mae for $10 billion.

BMW is paring back car discounts in Germany.

CES lures brands and marketers to Las Vegas.Continue reading...

Pepsi's new global platform — the "Live for Now" cross-platform campaign — has found a friend in MTV. Given that Live for Now is music-based, with tie-ins with Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, even Michael Jackson, it makes perfect sense for the beverage giant to tie in with MTV Networks, in addition to MTVN's siblings across the youth-skewing Viacom empire, in order to maximize the exposure of the effort.

With social and digital threaded throughout Pepsi's Live for Now (and Viacom's DNA), the upfront-inked partnership means fans will be able to tweet images with individual hashtags, relevant to various Viacom-owned TV shows and digital properties, for a chance to win prizes and get their photos featured in those shows and in Pepsi's advertising efforts in keeping with these Pinteresting, photo-tagging times we live in.Continue reading...

Alibaba takes on Baidu for dominance in China.

Android rises to #2 smartphone platform in Europe.

Apple ponders disposition of its cash horde.

California Pizza Kitchen plans brand revival.

Cochlear recalls line of ear implants.

Deutsche Bank launches Autobahn App Market.

Ford unveils new three-cylinder EcoBoost engine at Frankfurt auto show.

GameStop to sell branded gaming tablet.Continue reading...

It’s nothing new in the old boy’s network, the recycling of executives at the very top, and now it’s a growing fact for women at the apex of their careers, as evidenced by Christina Norman’s new role as Executive Editor of HuffPost BlackVoices, the former AOL portal that has migrated to its own channel this week on the Huffington Post with Norman's arrival.

She's a big hire for Arianna Huffington, who's been aggressively ramping up since joining forces with AOL, and perhaps an indication of a missed opportunity in OWN's business plan — to think multiplatform and digital, not just TV — for Winfrey.Continue reading...

On August 1st, 1981, at 12:01 a.m., MTV: Music Television launched and changed the face of television, music and branding. That means the brand that once typified youth rebellion is (gasp!) old enough to be the age of its target demographic — and you know what they say about trusting anyone over 30...Continue reading...

BMW and Mercedes outpace rivals in China, as Shanghai auto show opens and a new report shows the most popular brands in China are predominately foreign. Ford's China JV execs mull own brand, while Volkswagen reveals the new Beetle at events in Shanghai, New York and Berlin today. The Volkswagen Group also saw record first quarter sales as China deliveries boom.

VH1 woos female viewers with new programming, while siblings BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nick, and Spike remain holdouts on Time Warner Cable's iPad app due to Viacom lawsuit, although Cablevision's iPad app gets only grumbles.

Toyota resumes production at all Japan plants for first time since tsunami, as its Lexus brand slips behind rivals in the US. TEPCO also laid out a plan for shutting down nuclear reactor.Continue reading...

Anheuser-Busch plans to slim down Super Bowl advertising and feature Stella Artois brand.

Bank of America posts loss.

British Airways name replaced on London Stock Exchange with IAG ticker with Iberia merger.

GE CEO Jeff Immelt will lead President Obama’s council on jobs and competitiveness, replacing Paul Volcker. Meanwhile, GE’s  earnings jump, indicating “momentum.”

Google co-founder Larry Page re-takes the reins, indicating an effort to restore the company’s start-up spark.

Guinness becomes first official bear of Six Nations rugby tournament.Continue reading...