Rosie O'Donnell’s recent appearance in LA at the Television Critics Association U.S. TV networks' fall presentations was a big win for the comedian, and for OWN founder Oprah Winfrey.

"It's a huge, huge stamp of approval. It's almost like being knighted, to have her say she wanted me to do this for her," said O’Donnell in reference to her new boss. "I still get nervous when I get her phone calls." It’s a mutual admiration society, said Winfrey, who commented, "She could have gone to any of the big broadcast networks. But she chose to take her talent to OWN."

The Rosie Show, O'Donnell's new talk show on OWN, will revamp her old talk show for the average woman entering her fifties, inviting one guest per show to address news-driven subjects. What it will not be: a vehicle for stars to promote a project.Continue reading...

Taco Bell is extending its marketing partnership with MTV with a co-branded campaign to promote the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) to Taco Bell fans with a sweet deal: a Big Box Remixed special featuring four classic Taco Bell menu items with a side order of exclusive music content. 

The co-branding partnership is also something of a special deal for the leading Mexican-style quick service restaurant chain, as it marks Taco Bell's foray into the social media space of QR code packaging via a free mobile app.Continue reading...

NASCAR teams have been mostly hurting on the sponsorship front in the past few years. Some teams have had to cut down the number of races it goes to or cars it races due to sponsors dropping out.

But then along comes Crown Royal. The Indiana Business Journal reports that the #1 Canadian whisky in the US (and the world) is in negotiations with Indianapolis Motor Speedway to become the title sponsor of the Brickyard 400 weekend.  

And it’s not for chump change, either. It could be the richest title sponsorship in NASCAR history if the reporter was hearing correctly. The word is that Crown Royal is ready to fork over $1.5 million annually for the honor of being the race’s sponsor.Continue reading...

Major League Baseball has got to be happy that General Motors had a good year in 2010. It hasn’t been an easy time for American automakers in the last few years, prompting GM to “cut some sports sponsorships to save money before its 2009 bankruptcy,” the Associated Press reports.

Thanks to revenue of $4.7 billion last year, however, GM's Chevrolet brand is able to continue being baseball's sole automotive sponsor, as it has been since 2005. Chevy's renewed deal to continue as the official vehicle of Major League Baseball now last five more years.

It was announced at the All-Star game Tuesday night that the brand will  continue handing out the MVP awards for the All-Star game and the World Series, as well as the annual Roberto Clemente .award for the player who is most involved in community service.Continue reading...

It makes sense that Lucky magazine, Conde Nast's original "magalog" (magazine meets catalog) would try to redefine shopping for the social age. A new deal with ThisNext.com partners the fashion-based magazine in a co-branded website which Matt Edelman, ThisNext’s CEO, promises will set the bar for social shopping.

Content from Lucky’s editors will give style-conscious shoppers a personal touch in the new site, which aggregates fashion, home & design, beauty, and kids products in one place for social interaction and savvy shopping.Continue reading...

It’s fitting that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg streamed his brand's latest "awesome" news: the integration of Skype-powered video chat into the new improved Facebook Chat, which has been souped up to also support multi-person group chats (though not yet in video for that piece — yet).

“A few months ago, we started working with Skype to bring video calling to Facebook,” said Phillip Su, an engineer on the video calling team, on Facebook’s blog post about the Video Calling announcement. “We built it right into chat, so all your conversations start from the same place.”

“Now it’s easier to find your friends and start a conversation,” he added.

The new feature lets Facebook’s 750 million users initiate a Skype-enabled video call (in 70 different languages) by selecting the ‘video call’ button at the top of any Facebook Chat window.

As pointed out on FB's Twitter feed, only friends can call each other; and if one friend doesn't have video chat enabled, the other can leave a video message in their inbox.Continue reading...

According to a user on Reddit, the above DeLorean made of sand is "being used in an upcoming Old Spice commercial." Looks rad. The 1980s-ness of the DeLorean makes it a favorite for those looking for a little bit of iconic absurdity of the era. Indeed, we most recently saw the DeLorean brand, with monster tires, in that epic Hahn Beer ad.

Following a trial run at the South by Southwest digital conference in March, Foursquare and American Express are teaming up to offer discounts across the US to AmEx cardholders. AmEx commented tonight on Twitter: "Amex and Foursquare go national! Sync, explore, save... GET STARTED NOW."

As the New York Times notes, "Foursquare users are accustomed to receiving awards in the form of coupons and digital merit badges. But more substantial deals like those being offered to American Express cardholders may bring Foursquare and other location-based services further into the mainstream."

“In 2010, it was all about the check in,” commented eMarketer analyst Noah Elkin to the Times. “Now, it’s about checking out.”Continue reading...