In the latest example of a major brand's in-game advertising to reach gamers, Head & Shoulders has partnered with Sony PlayStation for the release of MLB 11 The Show — the #1 baseball game on the PS3. Featured in the promo: the Minnesota Twins' catcher Joe Mauer, whose fans are concerned about opening day as an injury keeps him out of spring training so far.

JetBlue yesterday launched new livery that pays tribute to New York State's iconic "I Heart New York" tourism campaign.

As announced in September, the airline partnered with Milton Glaser, the designer of NY's iconic place branding and marketing effort, on the tailfin design.Continue reading...

Late last night came word that AOL is buying Huffington Post for $315 million. Early this morning came more words, via the parties' conference call with journalists and analysts, about what exactly the deal means for both brands.

The call, with AOL CEO Tim Armstrong, his new editorial czar Arianna Huffington and AOL CFO Artie Minson, flush from announcing their deal at the Super Bowl, sounded like they were fresh from one of last night's XLV commercials.

The deal, declared Huffington, “is a dramatic accelerator. We’ve just gotten off a fast train and on to a supersonic jet.”Continue reading...

Verizon's new 30-second spot (above) brings back its iconic "Can you hear me now?" campaign — though don't expect to "Buy me now." 

In a single day sell-out, Apple and Verizon last night ran out of iPhone pre-orders for existing subscribers after only two hours, marking the most successful first-day sales event in Verizon's history.

Orders are closed until February 9, when everyone (Verizon subscriber or not) can pre-order the smartphone.

As goes the economy, so goes home improvement. Home Depot has seen slipping sales in big ticket ($900+) items since 2006. In response, the DIY retailer has been focusing on smaller projects: window treatments and new paint colors to liven old spaces, for example.

With spring a perennially good time to pique interest in redecorating, Home Depot is wooing women with a celebrity brand. Martha Stewart Living-branded items, ranging from patio furniture and closet organization kits to cleaning supplies and paint, are all now available and carry icons (moon or a star) for easier assembly of appropriate items.Continue reading...

It’s been some time since Charles Dickens and William Thackeray became famous with serialized novels, but the concept — making the reader wait for the next chapter — is being given a modern twist with an e-book on IBM’s effort to build a computer smart enough to beat the world’s best Jeopardy players.

Houghton Mifflin, the publisher of Stephen Baker’s Final Jeopardy: Man vs. Machine and the Quest to Know Everything, has released the e-book exclusively through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. However, the e-book will be missing the last chapter — until mid-February. Once the final pre-taped Jeopardy contest between Watson, the IBM computer, and “Jeopardy” champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter has been broadcast, the final chapter will be released to the e-book's buyers. 

The winner is already known, so the fact that readers will have to wait for the ending won’t be a draw for them to buy the book.Continue reading...

Birbiglia, who has a rare sleep disorder, will live in the Macy's window display through February 1st. He’s also chatting on Twitter (@BirBigs) and the Facebook pages for Downy and Macy's. The obvious question: Why?Continue reading...

There may have been a marketing opportunity or two that DSW Shoe Warehouse missed with its sponsorship of The Miss America Pageant on ABC on Saturday night – but there weren’t many of them.

The Columbus-based shoe retailer and pageant officials milked just about every chance possible to promote and demonstrate the brand and its products, to talk about feet and footwear, and to make it clear to the millions of viewers that, when it comes to sandals and sizzle, DSW is the place to go.

After being a national sponsor and official shoe provider, this year DSW stepped up to becoming the lead sponsor for the broadcast, during which 17-year-old Teresa Scanlan, Miss Nebraska, was crowned the youngest-ever Miss America. And it showed.Continue reading...