Winnebago Australia has finally done what America’s Winnebago Industries has been wanting it to do for decades: change its name. After a long legal battle, Winnebago Australia, which has never been affiliated with the U.S. motor home company of the same name, is changing its name to Avida.

Avida actually successfully trademarked the word “Winnebago” in Australia back in 1997, but Federal Court of Australia Justice Lindsay Foster ordered the cancellation of that registration last summer, saying that CEO Ben Binns “intentionally hijacked the Winnebago marks in Australia in a bold attempt to preempt Winnebago’s opening its doors here,” Bloomberg reported at the time.

However, don’t think that Avida is finished using the Winnebago name for its own self-promotion in Australia and New Zealand just yet.Continue reading...

Describing something that is oversized may soon involve a lawyer. The terms “titanic” and “gigantic” are both being considered for trademarking.

The man behind the plan, Clive Palmer, is an Australian billionaire who is having the Titanic completely re-created by a Chinese shipyard so it can set sail from England for North America in 2016. Palmer’s Blue Star Line, named after White Star Line, the company that owned the original Titanic, has filed a trademark request for a number of terms, including "Titanic," "Titanic II," "Titanic III," "Blue Star Line," and "Gigantic", although he's already promoting "Titanic II" on his website.

Palmer, a mining tycoon, believes that White Star Line had thought about naming one of its ships Gigantic, but never got around to it after its Titanic liner famously slammed into an iceberg near Newfoundland and sank, taking more than 1,500 lives along with it. “I think [the trademark application] will be OK,” Palmer said, according to Australia’s Boorowa News. “We'll just see how we go. I think there is a report back on it already, saying it is OK for a ship.”

However, there is some debate as to what he'll be able to trademark.Continue reading...

McDonald's is sort of limping along in the U.S. on the strength of its value menu, and there do not seem to be prospects for a return to sizzling growth anytime soon. So the fast-food chain is relying on the historic strengths of its brand — including locations, familiarity and convenience — to carry it through what is expected to be a ho-hum near-term future.

On Wednesday, the world's biggest QSR reported a higher fourth-quarter profit, but same-store sales growth of just 0.1 percent worldwide. That measure grew slightly in the U.S. thanks to the Dollar Menu and from pushing franchisees to stay open on Christmas. But same-store sales fell by 0.6 percent in Europe —McDonald's biggest market — and fell by 1.7 percent in the region encompassing Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Japan's sales decline of more than 6 percent in the fourth quarter was especially severe.

The immediate problem for McDonald's, at least in the U.S., is that first-quarter comparisons are becoming difficult due to last year's mild winter, and the chain doesn't have much new up its sleeve right now.Continue reading...

In PepsiCo's short film, Bring Happiness Home, a ragtag bunch of Chinese travelers trying to get home for Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) comes together thanks to Pepsi and Lay's. The film has logged more than 100 million views in its first week of release online, and is among many recently produced pieces that suggest 2013 could be an explosive year for branded content in China.

But it's not just potato chips and fizzy drinks that have found success in short film branded content in China recently. Cartier, Louis Vuitton and even the nation of Australia put together hits. And China's branded content business is just getting started.

The nation is a key market for product and marketing innovation for the company. Contributing to the success of Pepsi's Bring Happiness Home are established stars like Zhou Xun (周迅), Louis Koo (古天乐), Show Luo (罗志祥), Zhang Guo Li (张国立) and Angela Chang (张韶涵). In fact, star talent is often the common denominator in China's blooming branded content scene. Continue reading...

In December, the Australian government began requiring tobacco manufacturers to place horrific warnings and images on packs of cigarettes. Now, the nation's health community is mirroring efforts in New York, turning its energy toward the soda business.

Three of the nation’s largest health organizations – the Cancer Council, Diabetes Australia and the National Heart Foundation – want Australians to put down their sodas and start drinking water or milk, B&T reports. The group has purchased television time for the "Rethink Sugary Drink" campaign, and are also encouraging the government to tax sugar-heavy beverages. Continue reading...

Mickey D’s, the Golden Arches, McD's, McDonaldos, Macca's. McDonald’s has plenty of nicknames worldwide, but you’ll never roll up to a franchise of the 72-year-old brand and find any of them on the restaurant’s official sign.

After all, the company has entered into plenty of trademark suits in attempts to protect its name. It lost a fight against Malaysia’s McCurry in 2009, but won its battle against the Philippines’ MacJoy. In the ’90s, thanks to the work of the McDonald’s legal team, San Francisco coffee shop owner Kathleen McCaughey had to change the name McCoffee even though it had existed with that name for 17 years. But McDonald’s is still thwarted in the Cayman Islands, thanks to a local entrepreneur's MacDonald's Family Restaurant there.

Even while its lawyers are busy protecting the brand name and trademarks, the corporation is letting its Australian team have a bit of fun with the name. The brand is affectionately called Macca’s Down Under, and the company has decided to adopt the nickname officially on signs at 13 outlets, on social media and in its advertising for a limited promotion that kicks off today and runs through Feb. 4th.Continue reading...

Angry Birds first Christmas song ("Fly Me Home Tonight") released by Rovio.

Apple downgraded by Citi on China suppliers, while first weekend iPhone 5 sales in China top two million.

NRA goes silent in wake of Newtown, CT, school massacre as President Obama vows to get tougher on guns.

Diet Pepsi quietly changes sweetener in advance of new logo, tagline and can design.

Barclays protests US energy fine.

Best Buy extends deadline for founder's buyout bid.

Chrysler undecided on minivan plan.

Cisco reportedly plans to sell Linksys brand.

Coca-Cola resurrects Mello Yello in Australia, plans pop-up beach at Sydney Cricket Stadium.

Facebook's monetization efforts may ride on Walmart campaign lessons.

Li Ning projects substantial loss.

Microsoft urged to ditch Windows brand by Dell.

PPR goes shopping for young brands.

Starbucks defended by London mayor Boris Johnson.

Toyota set to seize global auto sales crown as GM vies for 2nd place.

It has been more than a year and a half since pretty much any new cigarettes or tobacco products have hit store shelves in the United States. So Big Tobacco must be finally caving to the growing drumbeat against them from lawmakers and health advocates, right? Well, no.

The lack of new product is actually due to those dang lawmakers. America's tobacco watchdogs at the Food and Drug Administration are “taking extra care in reviewing new product applications for public health risks,” according to WWLP Massachusetts.

And it isn’t just new product that’s been affected, either. The slowdown has also affected such things as brand-name changes as well as shifts in packaging or filters. But don’t feel too bad for Big Tobacco. They are still making a boatload of cash annually and they also just won a big case before the federal appeals court on Wednesday. In that case, the tobacco companies won the right to not sell their products in packaging that would feature graphic warning images, such as diseased lungs, a man with a tracheotomy smoking, and the cadaver of a (former) smoker.Continue reading...