Procter & Gamble’s ongoing global "Thank you, Mom" campaign is getting a fresh push 100 days prior to the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Centered around a dedicated Facebook page, P&G is celebrating the power behind the glory, success and dedication of many an Olympic athlete — his or her mother — in the biggest campaign in P&G’s 174-year history, which will run from now through the end of the Olympic Games.Continue reading...

It's always a challenge for a brand to shift its demographic focus. But that's what Denny's hopes to do, with a novel Web-only campaign.

The restaurant chain, whose television advertising generally targets families and older consumers, is breaking out of traditional media with a video series running only on CollegeHumor.com, with little mention elsewhere except Denny's Facebook page. The series launched about a year ago; "Season Two" has just begun.

Called "Always Open," the web video series, according to Denny's chief marketing officer Frances Allen, is designed to bring Denny's pitch, "America's Diner is Always Open," to Millennials, ages roughly 18 to 30. Allen tells the New York Times that the new video series offers "an engaging brand moment for millennials" that "communicates our brand message that diners are really welcoming places where everyone can come as they are."Continue reading...

PepsiCo is taking humorous branded entertainment very seriously. Witness the digital campaign to promote its now-rolling-out Pepsi NEXT beverage: "Drink It to Believe It," offering the first-ever "Internet Taste Test" on Facebook.

Combining humor and a virtual sensory experience, the campaign kicks-off with comedian Rob Riggle in a ‘how-to’ video, above, about the test while watching his online persona "trying" Pepsi NEXT. Other video impressions of digerati "taking their first sip" of the new cola with 60% less sugar include social marketing maven Gary Vaynerchuk and Internet meme, Scumbag Steve.

The Internet Taste Test Facebook app invites fans to opt in for the chance to watch themselves "taste" new Pepsi NEXT as a dozen Funny or Die improv comics perform their impressions using information from social profiles, like "likes" and “experiences.”Continue reading...

Because it owned the house, it was predictable that Ford's new reality-TV show on NBC, Escape Routes, would find every angle to tout the automaker's new 2013 Ford Escape — the namesake inspiration for the show. And it did.

But what viewers of the first installment of the show might not have expected was to see a number of other blue-chip brands — including McDonald's, J.C. Penney, several Procter & Gamble marques, even Ford rival Volkswagen — go along for the ride.

The six-week Escape Routes series, which debuted on March 31st, is the latest way for Ford to push the envelope with new-era marketing formats, where it has demonstrated industry leadership.

And while the first installment was hardly Emmy-worthy appointment viewing, Ford executives tell brandchannel they're pleased with the social TV meets branded entertainment experiment.Continue reading...

Ford and NBC have gotten together to launch an unprecedented bit of product placement: a prime-time reality series on network television that is built entirely around a particular product supplied by the brand, in a co-produced show by both parties.

Escape Routes is a six-week show that will air on Saturday nights on NBC and on mun2, NBCUniversal's bicultural network for young Latino-Americans, beginning March 31, with repeats on nbc.com and mun2.com the next day. The mini-series will focus on the adventures of six two-person teams involved in a unique road-trip competition in their 2013 Ford Escape SUVs. Prizes along the way include the red-hot Nike FuelBand. The grand prize: $100,000 plus two all-new Ford Escapes for the winning team.

While acknowledging how P&G and Walmart have collaborated on a made-for-TV family-friendly movies, some of which have run on NBC, Crystal Worthem, Ford's brand content and alliances manager, maintained that Escape Routes is "absolutely groundbreaking." She told brandchannel that "the creative piece of this is centrally launching a product and a brand new, compelling reality show at the same time."Continue reading...

Airbus parent accuses China of blocking jet sales over emissions scheme.

American Airlines parent retreats on pension-plan termination.

Apple lifts lid on new iPad and faces U.S. warning, along with other publishers, about collusion on e-book pricing.

BMW reports profits surge amid global luxury-car boom.

Continental appeals "absurd" verdict in Concorde crash.

Cracker Barrel uses country-music roots to build Twitter.

Dairy Queen expands in China.

Delta launches in-flight shopping with Amazon.

Facebook beefs up roster of IPO underwriters.Continue reading...

Having just released its Gorillaz co-branded Chuck Taylor sneaker collection, Converse today released the official music video for its latest "Three  Artists. One Song" music collaboration series, a song called "DoYaThing," which features Gorillaz with Andre 3000 and former LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy. Watch it below.Continue reading...

Now in the second year of a lifestyle brands deal with Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony despite their personal break-up, Kohl's is sponsoring the former couple's reality series on Univision, ¡Q'Viva! The Chosen, which premieres on Saturday, March 3rd on FOX. 

The his-and-hers celeb tie-ins come at an interesting time for Kohl's, which is cutting back on bricks-and-mortar stores in order to focus on e-commerce. Watch a promo, above, for the estranged couple's new FOX series, and the promos for their new spring collections below.Continue reading...