ESPN apologizes for comments by commentator after NBA player announces he's gay.

Honda recalls almost 46,000 Fits in North America.

Chrysler sees profit tumble on poorly executed product launches.

Alibaba and Sina form alliance of China online businesses.

Apple files for new technology that tells whether to text or call friends.

Asos prepares marketing drive to grow global brand.

BP reviews safety after oil leak in North Sea.

Best Buy sells Europe unit back to Carphone Warehouse.

BlackBerry CEO questions future of tablets (which brand doesn't have).Continue reading...

This holiday season, there are about a bazillion pop-ups sprouting up in New York and London, such as one at NYC's Ace Hotel for Krochet Kids International, the organization that teaches Ugandan and Kenyan women to knit, and the Santa Baby cocktail bar in London's Shoreditch area. Tech lovers and brands will no doubt be rejoicing at one particular pop-up that spans the Atlantic to both cities.

For eight years now, Wired magazine has been wowing tech-lovers with an annual pop-up shop stuffed with whatever the latest and greatest happens to be. This year, the magazine is not only back with a Big Apple pop-up stuffed with gadgets, gear, brands and cultural happenings, but also taking the fun to London. 

The London store features products from such companies as MakerBot, Arcbotics Hexapod, Hiut Denim, Makie Lab, Zboard, and plenty of others. Orders could be made on-site for the products to be delivered.Continue reading...

Flash retailing is upon us, as the holiday season fast approaches, and CNET is cutting the line with a pre-Thanksgiving pop-up store: "CNET GOTHAM." CNET’s tech-savvy editors are sharing the gadgets they daily obsess over with commoners – in an interactive experience that lets you feel, touch and play.

Now through November 13, it’s a first for CNET, bringing its online tech innovations off-line to a physical space. Housed in NYC’s Nolita district’s Openhouse Gallery, CNET’s demo space is set-up real-world/real-time: a living-room and den with 3D TV’s and a café full of games and toys.Continue reading...

American Airlines gears up Hispanic marketing.

AOL calls its ad declines “self-inflicted.”

Apple's iPad poses challenges to brands trying to leverage it.

BHP Billiton gets slapped down by Canadian government in its bid for Potash.

Chipotle develops Asian fast-casual concept.

Delta flight attendants reject union.

Domino's Pizza intrigues with mystery stunt in Japan: hiring a temp worker for one hour for $31,000.Continue reading...

Aflac is ruffling its feathers with a new "No Quack" ads featuring cable-TV chef Guy Fieri.

American Apparel's late and partial financial results indicates a brand in trouble.

Apple and Google are gearing up for Internet TV battle, as Google TV is seen as a "tough sell."

Best Buy introduces a mobile-reward experiment.

Bratz vs. Mattel legal battle heats up as Mattel is accused of spying on rivals.

Burberry slaps Variazoni with a $2 million lawsuit claiming counterfeit goods.

Eli Lilly halts experimental Alzheimer's drug testing.Continue reading...

Have you heard that publishing is dead? Condé Nast, home to such iconic titles as Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Wired, The New Yorker and, um, Golf Digest, certainly has seen better days. In 2009 alone, the publishing house closed three major titles (Cookie, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride) and cut its overall budget by a quarter.

So how is the publishing giant going to make up for lost revenue? The iPad? Until that takes off... brand licensing! Specifically, it will start putting some of its media brands on restaurants. Assuming they won't mimic the fabled Frank Gehry-designed eatery at Condé Nast's Times Square HQ, what will they serve?Continue reading...

Discovery Communications is big on Oprah, spending more than $100 million budgeted to launch Winfrey's OWN channel in January.

Google waves farewell to Google Wave, reportedly acquires Slide and designates a "social general" as it ramps up vs. Facebook.

BP's next CEO, Robert Dudley, eyes the future by visiting the company's Russian partners during a trip to Moscow.

Facebook ad sales: booming and getting bigger, according to COO Sheryl Sandberg.

LinkedIn finally makes its first acquisition: mSpoke, a data-sifting startup.

Zynga has acquired Unoh, a Tokyo-based startup.Continue reading...

Magazine publishers are trying to get up to speed on the iPad — but so far, it’s proving tougher than expected to win over consumers.

Gourmet, for instance, is transitioning to digital apps from the edible apps the magazine covered until it folded late last year.

Conde Nast recently announced it's relaunching Gourmet as a pure digital entity called Gourmet Live, which will exist as an iPad app—blending its rich archives with social and interactive elements—starting in October.

Conde Nast is bullish on Gourmet as an iPad play as a result of Wired's iPad app, which aims to breathe life into the brand’s distinctive storytelling with eye-catching graphics. Hopefully it will learn from that experience, as Wired hasn't exactly been a home run with iPad users so far.Continue reading...