In America, the team owners of the NFL and NBA have locked out their own players as the two sides try to hammer out new collective bargaining agreements that will make every one feel like they are getting a fair chunk of the massive financial pie.

In Australia, the players of the Australian Football League aren’t happy about the way they are being treated, either. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that they have come up with a way to show their displeasure without having a full strike: covering up the AFL logo on their jerseys.Continue reading...

The Oscars of Advertising, the Cannes Lions festival now taking place in France over seven days and 57 sessions, wraps up on Sunday.

At the Cannes Lions 2011, marketing and advertising innovators, communications ninjas, design savants, digital thought-leaders and other big thinkers come together to inspire, debate, and entertain. From outdoor advertising to media to radio to design, almost all forms of communication are covered, judged, applauded and recognized.

Brandchannel joins in the applause — check out the 2011 Cannes Lions Grand Prix winners below, and stay tuned for an update after the final round of winners are announced on Sunday.Continue reading...

Banks aren’t generally known for frisky, hilarious advertising — after all, they're taking care of commercial and consumer finances — but the National Australian Bank broke down all the walls earlier this year in an effort to draw extra attention to it. And it has apparently worked. 

NAB's 2010 research showed that 50% of Australians who responded had, at some point or another, broken up up on or near Valentine’s Day. Inspired, the bank duly hired 60 couples across the country to publicly break up on Valentine’s Day and post about it online as part of a social-media effort showcasing NAB’s “breakup” with other banks.Continue reading...

Australia's Foster's Group, which last month officially spun off its wine interests, has rejected an unsolicited $10 billion takeover bid from SABMiller because the bid "significantly undervalues" the company. According to The Australian, the SAB move follows a revised deal with its joint venture partner, Coca-Cola Amatil, and another unsolicited run at Foster's — by Mexico's Modelo brewery — last week.

Click here for the NYT's take, or watch SABMiller CEO Graham Mackay's comments below.

As part of its global "Visual Life" campaign, Intel has launched what it's calling a first of its kind YouTube interactive: The Escape, an "immersive, impactful interactive experience that draws users into a new world of visual possibilities with Intel."

The YouTube experience (tagline: "Escape to a new world of visual possibilities") integrates with the user's Facebook profile (although non-Facebookers can participate), the viewer is drawn in as a participant in a cinematic thriller, taking part in the adventure by solving puzzles and following along with the action (the camera is from the user's point-of-view).Continue reading...

The times they are a-changing in Australia. A new report has it that Aussies are more likely to stay home than go out at night, are less interested in beer-drinking (awesome beer ads notwithstanding) than in the recent past, and are much more interested in recreational activities such as sporting equipment or television.

“The conventional wisdom is that Australians spend like there’s no tomorrow, are reluctant to save, put purchases on the credit card and love a beer, smoke and flutter (gambling). But the stereotype is outdated,” said CommSec chief economist Craig James, author of The New Aussie Consumer, according to StartupSmart.Continue reading...

Trending today on Twitter is the latest wonder from Down Under — Super Hahn's super funny spot, which we caught last week. Hey every other single beer brand ever, how does your commercial playing tired male sexual stereotypes against female ones feel now? Pretty inadequate, huh?

The Australian city of Newcastle, just 101 miles up the coastline from Sydney and home to about 290,000 residents, has had some rough times in recent years, even if it is still the largest coal exporting harbor in the world.

Back in 1993, there was 17% unemployment in Newcastle and things were particularly bleak there when a major employer, Melbourne-based mining, oil, and gas giant BHP Billiton, closed its Newcastle steelworks.

But now the city is attempting to get back on track with a colorful rebranding effort.Continue reading...