Following months of speculation, Hulu has taken the wraps off its paid premium service. For $9.99 a month, Hulu Plus subscribers will be able to watch multiple seasons of programs no longer available on-air, as well as current episodes from Hulu’s media owners including ABC's Modern Family and NBC's 30 Rock.

NBC Universal, News Corp. and Walt Disney Co. are Hulu stakeholders, and this move is a direct challenge to not only their own online services but broadband TV offerings in the works from soon-to-be NBC owner Comcast, which is in the midst of streamlining its TV Everywhere initiative with Time Warner.Continue reading...

Brands are luring music-lovers with a variety of musical tie-ins:

• Adidas Originals is hosting a live chat with Snoop Dogg on its Facebook page tomorrow to celebrate reaching the 3 million fans benchmark.
• Converse is appealing to hipsters with indie music collaborations such as artists Cudi, above, and Best Coast.
• Keds is sponsoring performances at The Whitney (and taps artists such as Jenny Holzer for limited-edition sneakers) in summer collaboration.
• Levi's is promoting musicians such as Jason Mraz and John Legend & the Roots as part of its Pioneer campaign.
• VICE magazine and Intel kicked off their Creators Project collaboration in NYC, featuring the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Nick Zinner and other artists.
• Among luxury brands, meanwhile, Burberry is working with British musicians (and tapping some to model) to support its digital marketing.

More brands making news after the jump.Continue reading...

AT&T’s exclusive deal with Apple for the iPhone in the U.S. has proven to be something of a mixed blessing. It has delivered new customers and lined its corporate coffers, but it has simultaneously strained the very fiber of the AT&T network.

Faced with new but unhappy customers and a flailing brand image, AT&T is turning to social media for a quick fix. In keeping with its "Rethink Possible" campaign, it's taking its customer care service to the social Web. Corporate spokesperson Susan Bean tells Ad Age: "We started using social media as a PR tool. With marketing, we discovered that for social media to be successful we really needed there to be customer care. Otherwise all anyone would want to talk about is: 'solve my problem.'"

Therein lies the rub. Social media has made your average user sophisticated enough to know the difference between "customer care" and PR. Corporations that try to confuse the two could confuse customers, and potentially suffer even more in the long run.Continue reading...

Criticism of BP has shifted in full force to CEO Tony Hayward, who has cancelled a planned speech tomorrow in London, and was criticized by the White House for taking time off to go yachting on the weekend.

The damage, to date, to BP's brand? An estimated $1 billion, according to reputation management firm General Sentiment. Adweek, meanwhile, calls BP's social media marketing "aggressive," while Brand Republic reiterates the need for more "brand humility" at BP and beyond.

In other brand news, Bavaria Beer's so-called ringleaders of the orange dress-clad ambush marketing stunt at the World Cup appear in court tomorrow.Continue reading...

Comcast-NBC deal raises concerns in the U.S.

Facebook looks to boost ads; 500 million user benchmark tipped in new movie marketing?

Jeep "slowly" relaunches the Grand Jerokee.

Tiger Woods' lost endorsements cost IMG $4.6 million last year, according to CNBC.

Toshiba enters e-reader fray.

Toy Story 3 tops box office in biggest opening weekend for Disney Pixar.Continue reading...

ESPN launches its 3D channel tomorrow, in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup kick-off game with Mexico vs. South Africa. At launch ESPN 3D will be available to more than 40 million U.S. homes via Comcast, DirecTV and AT&T's U-verse service.

ESPN's Pardon the Interruption debated the merits of ESPN in 3D vs. HD (above) after it was announced at CES in January. 

Launch advertisers, including Disney's Pixar, P&G's Gillette, and Sony's new 3DTV, will promote their brands in commercials that will run during the World Cup coverage. Naturally, ESPN hopes the channel will spur more marketers to think in three dimensions.Continue reading...

NBCU head Jeff Zucker will reportedly step down, post-Comcast merger, with a $30M exit package (reports News Corp.'s media outlets). Comcast COO Steve Burke, a Disney/ABC veteran, is the lead contender to succeed him.

BP's Gulf operation hit a snag today; while director James Cameron was consulted about the oil spill in the Gulf. Seriously.

Diet Coke is promoting its European "Love it Light" campaign on Facebook.

Ford is extending its custom graphics program to all models.

Four Seasons cuts amenities but seeks to protect brand.Continue reading...

The Disney mouse is going to school…actually pre-school, as the company most famous for animated entertainment shutters its sudser channel and replaces it with Disney Junior.

Disney's new channel, geared to the 2-7 year old age group, is due to launch in 2012. It will replace the now-cancelled SoapNet, a mix of soap opera reruns and supporting original programming, is currently in 75 million homes.

Anne Sweeney, co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney/ABC Television Group, tells today's New York Times that “This represents the next step in a global preschool strategy that started 10 years ago with the introduction of dedicated channels overseas.”

It's also a sign of the times, as technology has made the network's original purpose obsolete.Continue reading...