Dodge puts new spin on the "pro driver, closed course" blink-and-you'll-miss-it fine print of car commercials, above.

Black MacBook costs more than the white MacBook garners "Manhattan Apple Store Accused of Discriminating Against Black Men" headline.

Apple, meanwhile, sues teen who made white iPhone conversion kit.Continue reading...

BP took an uncalled-for risk in the hours before the well blow-up, an investigator says.

Bayer champions benefits of “umbrella branding.”

Chevron makes bigger bet on natural gas through acquisition.

Facebook drives U.K. online display market.

Ford promotes a new brand “spirit” online.

General Motors reportedly will drop its venerable Mr. Goodwrench brand.

Groupe Danone is talking with Japanese suitors about selling bottled-water unit that includes Evian brand.

MSNBC puts Keith Olbermann back on the air, while the host apologizes to fans – but not the network.

Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart perform best in their categories, according to their trading partners in a new study.

Rolls-Royce narrows in on cause of engine fire in Qantas aircraft.

Sara Lee sells bakery unit.

Vodafone to exit Softbank of Japan.

Fresh research on women and their favorite brands suggests big retailers, both offline and online, are making the strongest connection.

According to the September brand index issued by Women at NBCU (formerly called Women@NBCU, it's NBC Universal's female-centric ad sales unit overseen by Lauren Zalaznick), three retail giants top the list of brands American women told NBCU they love the most.

Respondents' top brands in September: (1) Wal-Mart (2) Target and (3) eBay. Also making the top ten: two car companies (Ford and Honda), two soft drinks (Coca-Cola and Pepsi), two cell phone providers (Verizon and AT&T) and the iPhone.

While Wal-Mart and Target remained first and second in September, respectively, from the month before, eBay replaced August's third-ranked brand, Verizon. What's even more telling is major gains by brands.Continue reading...

Interbrand has released its 2010 ranking of the world's best global brands. The 11th annual assessment of the world's most successful brands for the first time doesn't include BP, which lost billions of dollars of value, and brand equity, due to the Gulf Oil spill.

"BP's environmental disaster and inability to make good on its brand promise of 'Beyond Petroleum' led to its falling off the list and helped competitor Shell emerge as an industry leader," Interbrand (the parent company of brandchannel) stated. As a result of BP's fall from grace, Shell is now ranked 81—up from 92 last year—in this year's standings.

Toyota, which also had a tough year in the wake of recall-related consumer mistrust, lost 16% of its brand value and fell out of the top 10, dropping from 8 to 11 as "its long-standing reputation for reliability, efficiency and innovation helped it weather the crisis better than expected.

Goldman Sachs, "once the envy of Wall Street," increased one position (from 38 to 37) and saw its brand valuation rise 1%. The financial services giant "faces the dichotomy of strong economic results and an angry public that will continue to lash out until the company begins to demonstrate that it is making sincere efforts to better align its ethics with its brand."

HP cracked into the top 10, making #10 "despite a challenging year" and for "smart additions to its product portfolio." Other tech brands, meanwhile, dominated the top five fastest gaining brands.Continue reading...

It was as if the longest match in the history of tennis came down from the heavens for the makers of Aleve.

And it’s not much of a stretch to imagine American John Isner or France’s Nicolas Mahut – the two combatants in the more than 11-hour match played over three days at Wimbledon – endorsing the naproxen sodium tablets in the coming days and weeks.

After all, their first-round match was effectively an Aleve commercial, the way rugby games played in the rain evoke Tide and other laundry detergents.

Just days after the pair finished their gruelling affair – Isner prevailed, winning the fifth set 70 games to 68 – Aleve took out a full-page ad on page 2 in the sports section of Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper.Continue reading...

As the Dow took investors on a wild ride today, Procter & Gamble and CNBC's Jim Cramer (above) were thrown by a brief 23% dip (likely a trading glitch) in P&G's share price today. P&G (and this doctor) also refuted any charges about Pampers Dry Max as—well—rash.

BP has turned to Twitter and Facebook to report progress on its oil spill clean up efforts. It also created a Gulf of Mexico response section on its website, highlighted in bright red on its home page top nav.

Facebook tests brand status updates as McDonald's develops location-based app.

Nintendo reports slowing Wii sales.

FCC detailed proposed US broadband rules.Continue reading...