With over half a billion users and a billionaire founder who was TIME magazine's Person of the Year, Facebook has been flying high. This month, the social network is flying high, quite literally.

In a promotion through Gogo Inflight Internet, which offers inflight connectivity in the continental U.S., Facebook will be available free in February on the Wi-Fi networks AirTran, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta, United, US Airways, and Virgin America. Other services provided can range in price from $4.95 to as much as $12.95.

Gogo has been pushing its service via partnered promotions lately to encourage more air travelers to take advantage of Wi-Fi. But don't forget in-flight netiquette!Continue reading...

Adidas Originals has been busy in Brazil with Destroy and Create, a cultural brand promotion in Sao Paolo that fuses art and design with skateboard culture (spreading the word on Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter). Also whetting the interest of that hipster subculture: the brand's latest Star Wars kicks.

Dodge's new commercial today touts the 2010 Dodge Challenger in a 60-second spot created in honor of the World Cup match between USA and England tomorrow — a fact it played up in its teaser for the ad, after the jump.

The v/o: "Here's a couple of things America got right: Cars ... and freedom." Too patriotic for the brand, but par for the course at the World Cup? Tell us what you think, or flag a World Cup brand campaign that caught your eye with a comment below. Continue reading...

Auto sales in April were in a holding pattern, as car shoppers seemed to prefer tire-kicking to buyers. Still, there was a gradual rebound in sales last month, and the automotive category is on track to increase overall U.S. sales by 10-15% for the year as a whole.

Industry sales were much better than a year ago – when the auto market was at death’s door – but not as robust as just a month earlier, in March 2010. But automakers can be encouraged by at least one indicator amid the reams of inconclusive sales statistics that they released on Monday: Hot cars and brands are making a strong comeback.

It’s one hopeful sign that American consumers have removed themselves from the economic backdrop, and have looked past their own financial uncertainties, enough that their gradually rising collective enthusiasm may yet propel the U.S. economy into a strong recovery.Continue reading...

General Motors and Chrysler are on the road to recovery, gauging by their latest quarterly reports yesterday. But car buyers are going to be the real winners from the slow return to health by these automotive brands – and as other brands continue to feel their oats.

Chrysler reported a first-quarter operating profit and the boosting of its cash reserves, while General Motors revealed that it has repaid $6.7 billion in U.S. government loans ahead of schedule. GM also announced it's ready to hire and rev up production, and launched a new TV campaign (above) featuring chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre.

Both companies, of course, still face huge challenges.Continue reading...

Scott Monty, the ubiquitous head of social media for Ford Motor Co., stopped by Brandchannel.com to comment on Sheila Shayon's item earlier this week on Ford's latest foray into crowdsourcing, the "Your Ideas" forum on thefordstory.com. Monty, who oversees the company's social outreach on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and beyond, explained why Ford is bullish on crowdsourcing:

"The reason we've elected to open this up - and this isn't anything new, as we've had fordnewideas.com for quite some time - is because we wanted to offer a forum where people could openly comment on ideas, rate them up or down, and give our team a chance to listen to what customers are saying in one place. After all, social media is supposed to be about listening first. We're not committing to these ideas. We're merely seeing what's hot and what's not. If we choose to pursue any of them, it will be with the same level of research and stringency that has gone into making things like the industry-leading and award winning SYNC system. We're not planning on debuting the Homermobile."

Are you a fan of soliciting public feedback and ideas, and how? Read Sheila's story and tell us what you think.

Ford is going digital – and launching a social media initiative today: “Your Ideas” at www.thefordstory.com. Users are being encouraged to engage in dialogue about the automotive space. This is the latest in efforts from the company to leverage ideas from outside of Ford and the car industry, and is labeled an "open innovation model."

Ford has been creating a community of assorted non-automotive tech experts, universities and suppliers to contribute to their marketing, planning and research activities.

“Ford continues to push the envelope when it comes to engaging consumers in what’s next for Ford cars and trucks,” said Mark Fields, Ford President at the opening of the SAE World Congress today. “We are going beyond traditional consumer market research, studies and focus groups.  Ford is turning to the social Web as an innovative way of generating new vehicle feature ideas customers really want and value.”Continue reading...

Automobile aficionados breathed a sigh of relief when troubled General Motors retained its iconic Chevy, Pontiac, and Cadillac brands. But they probably would not have shed any tears if Buick, a brand "long maligned as catering to elderly buyers," went the way of Oldsmobile. Instead of discontinuing the Buck brand, however, GM revitalized it and now, surprisingly, it is alive and kicking.

In fact, Buick's sales in the US surged 76 percent in March, according to The Detroit News, as Buick's LaCrosse sedan captured about 17 percent market share in the large-car segment. While Buick buyers are still generally older, it appears that the average age of a Buick buyer is falling while the average income is rising.Continue reading...