Dunkin' Donuts aims to increase competition with energy drink brands. [Boston Herald]

Dodge looks for manly men with a beard-growing contest. [BrandFreak]

The Nook is finally available in Barnes & Noble stores. [PC Mag]

Hormel's "Life Better Served" campaign shows brand depth. [Brandweek]

With North American sales down, Coca-Cola hopes to raise appeal overseas. [DailyFinance]

Facebook's Doppelganger Week is a huge success. [Time]Continue reading...

Google to launch a social-networking feature for Gmail users. [WSJ]

Boeing flies its latest model, the 747-8 Freighter, in Seattle. [Reuters]

Costs to recall Toyota models could reach $2 billion. [Bloomberg]

Magazine stand profits are down by 9 percent. [Business Insider]

Those of you who were hoping to skirt American Airline's $25 checked baggage fee by flying Southwest Airlines instead, might want to think again – at least American Airlines has free Wi-Fi.

Although passengers may now board Southwest with two bags at no cost, the airline is putting a price on its upcoming wireless Internet feature, which the brand will begin installing in April.

Southwest can expect an added boost in sales. The US Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that popular airlines received almost $2 billion in the third quarter of 2009 from baggage, in-flight Internet, food, and drink costs, generating almost seven percent of total operating revenue.Continue reading...

Pizza Hut gets a sales boost of 35% on Super Bowl game day. [CNN Money]

Super Bowl commercials look toward the past. [NY Times]

Google first Super Bowl ad is a big success. [TechCrunch]

Reader's Digest creates Super Bowl app for fans. [Mediaweek]

Jenny Craig settles with Weight Watchers, pulls controversial ad. [WSJ]

Toyota to recall 170,000 Prius models in Japan. [Washington Post]Continue reading...

Skittles creates a new campaign with a social-networking twist. [Brandweek]

Wal-Mart wants to sell generic spices to compete with McCormick. [WSJ]

Miller Lite thinks that beer is a man's best friend. [BrandFreak]

Super Bowl brings sales increase to the New Orleans area. [CNN Money]

Negotiations have ceased and Cadbury is now officially a Kraft brand, but it didn't come cheap: Kraft spent $18.5 billion. (What a difference one month makes since AP published a $19.5 billion estimate in January.) Nevertheless, Cadbury's majority shareholders agreed to an acquisition that will allow Kraft to take the reigns. 

Kraft's CEO and chairwoman, Irene Rosenfeld, explained that "the combination of Kraft Foods and Cadbury creates a global powerhouse in snacks, confectionery and quick meals. Together we have impressive global reach and an unrivaled portfolio of iconic brands, with tremendous growth potential."Continue reading...

Golden Grahams makes unemployment a little less painful. [Econsultancy]

Pizza Hut's new campaign gets somewhat personal. [Adweek]

Kellogg sees success in its future despite lackluster sales. [NY Times]

Sony ups the ante with the Reader Daily Edition, a new version of its Kindle. [Businessweek]

Toyota now checks brakes on its Lexus hybrids. [CNN Money]

Facebook reinvents its budding brand with a redesign. [TechCrunch]Continue reading...

The Olsen Twins want amateur designers for new JC Penney line, Olsenboye. [Nitrolicious]

Valentino partner Giancarlo Giammetti overshares on Facebook. [WWD]

New Girl Scout campaign empowers tweens to sell, sell, sell. [BrandFreak]

It pays to complain: Clydesdales return to Budweiser commercials. [Adweek]

Oprah's self-help guru James Ray charged with manslaughter. [CNN]

Gambler wins, then loses millions to PartyGaming. [Daily Mail]

American Eagle creates a cosmetics line for its Aerie brand. [StyleList]

Gucci saves money, uses images from the 1960s in its new campaign. [WWD]

Monster negotiates to purchase Yahoo's HotJobs website. [NY Times]

Pfizer cuts back on costs for research-and-development. [WSJ]Continue reading...

AOL releases frst quarter earnings: bad, but not pitiful. [Business Insider]

Companies are increasing digital budgets for 2010. [Econsultancy]

Complaints mount regarding Prius' faulty brakes. [CNN Money]

Amazon purchases Touchco to obtain new technology. [NY Times]

Today, major brands like Verizon, Nestle, and Ford want a seat alongside the guests at your party – just in time for the Super Bowl.

Verizon is holding parties on Super Bowl Sunday with the help of 1,000 Fios owners. In the coming days, hosts are required to upload plans, videos, and photos on a Fios-branded website.

The site will also provide themed food recipes, fact sheets, and a countdown to the event. Through these events, Verizon can easily take advantage of the gatherings with a “While you're all here, we should talk about...” type of tactic.Continue reading...

Shoppers spend less, Visa earnings are poor. [Daily Finance]

Abercrombie & Fitch debates a rebrand after sales plummet. [WSJ]

St. Pauli girl kept on thanks to extensive beer knowledge. [BrandFreak]

Visa debuts a 3D display in NYC's Grand Central. [Adweek]

New toy Paper Jamz, created by WowWee, are 1-inch thick. [CNN Money]

Airbus becomes Beoing's newest competition. [Business Week]Continue reading...

UPS predicts financial success for the economy in 2010. [WSJ]

Oprah Winfrey's network will show a show about her show. [NY Times]

PepsiCo initiates a Juicy Rewards program for Tropicana. [Brandweek]

Gang members love Twitter, Facebook. [Boston Herald]

Bravo TV has decided to focus on bringing yet another unknown out of obscurity. But this time the soon-to-be-star isn’t a secret, scissor-wielding genius or underappreciated chef – it is social networking, start-up Foursquare.

Here’s how it will work: By visiting locations associated with Bravo’s host of reality shows (“Top Chef,” “The Real Houswives,” “Sheer Genius”) Foursquare users will receive a network-themed badge. Bravo will also offer other sweepstakes and awards as incentive for viewers to play.

Bravo is hoping the partnership will be a way to reach contemporary audiences as numbers shrink. Meanwhile, the relationship provides an opportunity for Foursquare to extend its fan base beyond just tech geeks.Continue reading...

Sneak preview of ABC's 'Lost' leaks onto the Internet. [Business Insider]

Retailers quickly selling out of Wii Fit Plus leads to negativity. [Consumerist]

Gene Montesano and Barry Perlman, co-founders of Lucky Brand, are leaving. [WWD]

Pre-teen boys forgo showers in favor of Axe body sprays. [NY Times]

Hewlett-Packard donates to former CEO Fiorina's opponent for Senate. [Gawker]

Amazon feels pressure to lower e-book prices. [WSJ]Continue reading...