PepsiCo announced internally a number of executive changes in its global groups organization, established earlier this year, according to an internal memo obtained by Ad Age. The groups report to John Compton, president-PepsiCo. The changes:

• Salman Amin has been named global chief marketing officer of PepsiCo, from EVP and CMO of PepsiCo.
• Brad Jakeman, president-global enjoyment and chief creative officer, will take on the role of president-global beverages group, a role held by Massimo d'Amore until his departure in February.
• Lorraine Hansen was named president-global snacks group.
• Enderson Guimares will be president-global nutrition group.
• Sarah Robb O'Hagan will serve as president-global sports nutrition group while remaining president of Gatorade North America.
• Brian Newman was named SVP-strategy and finance.Continue reading...

With news that the FCC is suing AT&T over "deaf calling service fraud," we asked Michael Janger, who wrote "Baby Boomers: The New Disability Market" for us in December, for comment and context. Michael writes:

In the wake of the 2009 arrests of 26 people for Video Relay Services (VRS) fraud and their resulting convictions, the Federal Communications Commission implemented procedures for stronger oversight of its Telecommunication Relay Services program for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.  VRS and IP Relay operators have, in turn, tightened their policies and instituted systems to ensure compliance with FCC directives. 

These directives seem to have failed to reach AT&T. This week, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against AT&T for improperly billing the FCC for calls made by Nigerian scam artists on AT&T’s IP-Relay service. The lawsuit charges that AT&T failed to follow a 2008 FCC requirement that relay providers register their users and verify their identities, and that up to 95% of AT&T’s call volume since 2009 was originated by fraudulent foreign callers taking advantage of the free calls. The cost of these improper reimbursements: $16 million.

For two decades, deaf and hard-of-hearing people have benefited from the Federal program for relay services, which enable them to communicate with anyone using a special telephone or videophone, or on their computer. Without these programs, many deaf people would be unable to call their family and friends, or do business over the phone. Even something as mundane as calling the credit card company about a lost credit card would be, at best, an hour-long call. Continue reading...

Spanx founder Sara Blakely, the youngest "rebel billionaire" to make the Forbes annual uber-rich ranking, shares her business advice in this new video for American Express OPEN.

Brandchannel's most-read blog posts of the week:

1) IBM's Watson vs. Jeopardy! Champs Kicks Off

2) Lady Gaga's Eggselent Grammys Arrival

3) Game Over: Volvo Jumps Off Its Brand Wagon

4) Angry Birds for Valentine's Day

5) Sports Illustrated's 2011 Swimsuit Issue a Game-Changer for Time Inc.

6) Groupon Regroups Post-Super Bowl

7) Brands to Watch: Sony vs. Apple and more

8) End of an Era: Ronaldo Retires

9) McWeddings a Hit at McDonald's Hong Kong

10) Monopoly Adds a Digital Big Brother

Brandchannel's most-read blog posts of the past week:

1) Greatest BMW Ad In History Is Not By BMW

2) Heineken Opens the World to Viral Hit

3) Case study: Vaseline and Contextual Advertising

4) POM Wonderful's Product Placement Doublecross of Morgan Spurlock

5) Scarlett Johansson Steams Up New Moët & Chandon Ads

6) LinkedIn Maps the Social Cloud

7) Charm Offensive: iPhone 4 Verizon Ad vs. AT&T Customer Retention Email

8) What the Hell: Avril Lavigne Ventures Into Product Placement

9) Hyundai Wants Ewe: Brand Gets Sheepish, Viral Ahead of Super Bowl

10) Facebook Turns User Activity Into Ads

ESPN 3D promotes tonight's Sony-sponsored 3D event: the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game, aka the Fiesta Bowl. The No. 1 team in the US, Auburn, will face-off against the No. 2 team, Oregon, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ, as they vie for top spot in the 2010 NCAA Division. 

It rebranded with a lower-case 's' in MySpace, a redesign and new logo (above) in October in a bid to become a "social entertainment destination" for youths. It duly launched an iPhone app and integrated Facebook in November, and added analytics for users and incentives for musicians, its major draw for young fans, in December.

But it all, apparently, wasn't enough to turn around its sliding fortunes. Now, News Corp.'s struggling Myspace social network is expected to shed more than half its staff — an estimated 600 employees — on Tuesday, according to AllThingsD.

Update: The site indeed laid off about half of its staff, with Yahoo reportedly ready to swoop in. The culprit for Myspace's downfall, per the New York Times: Facebook.

We here at brandchannel wish you a happy and safe holiday season — we'll be back here on January 3rd, checking in on Twitter and Facebook until then. We also invite you to check out some smart predictions for the year ahead from our colleagues at Interbrand. Happy New Year!