Airbus and Boeing aim at each other in advertising spat.

CNN prospects weighed under Jeff Zucker.

Canadian Club launches "Join the Club" red-meat campaign.

Carnival apologizes to gay passengers after forbidding drag dress on cruise.

Chevrolet sees Volt ranked as best-loved car by Consumer Reports.

Costco to spend $3 billion on special dividend ahead of fiscal cliff.

Exxon faces short-term shortage of oil supplies.Continue reading...

White Castle has been around for 90 years and was really the leader in creating the kitchen assembly lines that led to the fast-food nation we’ve become. Heck, one of the chain’s founders, Walter Anderson, is credited with inventing the hamburger bun.

Now the chain is aiming be a leader in another area altogether: serving alcohol to fast-food consumers. The UK's Daily Mail reports that White Castle is trying it out at one location in Lafayette, Ind., offering wine for $4.50 a glass and beer from $3 to go along with its tiny hamburgers, which are known as sliders.

Starbucks has been experimenting with adding alcohol to boost business in off-peak horus, while a Burger King franchise in Miami’s South Beach – the Whopper Bar – sells alcohol along with its other products.

“This was something that customers had been suggesting,” said Jamie Richardson, a spokesman for the company, according to the Daily Mail. “They thought that beer and wine might go nicely with the barbecue that was available at Blaze,” he said, referring to the company’s BBQ offshoot, some of which are attached to White Castles. “We're certain that we might have some customers who might enjoy some sliders and a beer or wine as well.”

The Daily Mail has it that the folks in Indiana are liking the addition of alcohol and that could mean it gets “extended to all White Castle restaurants, as well as the co-branded Blaze Modern BBQ, Asian food brand Laughing Noodle and sandwich outlet Deckers.”

Amazon leads Klout list of most influential retailers.

Avon ousted CEO Andrea Jung's two-year exit deal criticized by former CEOs.

Bank of America settles fair-lending case for record $335 million.

Beats by Dre pumps up headphone sales.

Diddy plans to launch tequila brand.

Facebook tests private messaging between users and brand pages.

FedEx disciplines delivery man who tossed computer monitor.

Frito-Lay sued over "all natural" claims.Continue reading...

We will have more about Tower Heist on Monday. From the looks of it, the Madoff revenge tale offers plenty of opportunity for product placement. But what mall food court restaurant has completely unbranded packaging? (None, that's who.)

In the meantime, this weekend will also see the third installment of a trilogy responsible for one of the greatest product placements in the history of film.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 come to be derided as a "Hallmark holiday," a day manufactured not to put lovebirds together, but to separate a boob from his money (or in the case of couples with joint accounts, their money). Ah, romance is dead, or so cynics would say.

But brands are increasingly using creative approaches to make the day more than the stereotypical pink hearts and roses. Yes, Teleflora's Vanetine's Day-themed Super Bowl commercial may be hard to beat, but below, we share some love for brands that creatively tackled Valentine's Day this year.Continue reading...

* Apple's plan to offer 99-cent TV-show rentals is "getting limited support from media companies," reports the Wall Street Journal. Amazon cut the price of some TV show downloads to 99 cents in response, while Apple's partnership with Netflix is seen as a sign the DVD rental company may weather a shift to Web video that is challenging others. Sony is also launching a digital-music service to compete with iTunes.

* Allergan settles Botox allegations with the federal government for $600 million. 

* Burger King may need a new brand strategy rather than just another new owner, as suitors start to circle.

* Chrysler posts August sales gain, but every other major automaker sees sales slide in comparison with last year’s robust “cash-for-clunkers” campaign.

* Discovery Channel gunman James Lee told NBC mid-hostage-taking that he picked up pointers from Mythbusters.

* General Motors, which is making the Chevrolet Volt, is trying to trademark the expression "range anxiety."Continue reading...

J&J faces knock on reputation as bacteria identified in children's Tylenol recall, production is suspended and US House investigation called.

Yahoo rolls out a new campaign that aims to take share from Google (although Facebook is its real foe, argues AllThingsD's Kara Swisher).

Sprint goes text-centric for teens (survey supports), while Sprint's Virgin Mobile $25 prepaid plans are a precursor to a new prepaid brand.

Mother's Day 2010 is more social, less sentimental, with non-Hallmark mom-ents and flowers via Facebook.

Apple, BP, Google and more branding news:Continue reading...