When Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne tossed around the idea of an American-built Maserati at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last January, the notion had an odd ring to it.

Even for a group of companies, operations and brands that the peripatetic Italian was still trying to organize into a cohesive global whole, the possibility of Chrysler workers in Detroit — a few miles down the street from the auto show — building a true luxury vehicle for export seemed too far-fetched even for him.

But half a world away, in Germany this week, Marchionne showed just how serious he was when he unveiled the vehicle in question at the Frankfurt Auto Show.Continue reading...

The comedy 30 Minutes or Less is opening in cinemas this weekend, and with a cast including Danny McBride and Aziz Ansari, it looks hilarious. It's a shame its source material is so depressingly grim.

While the idea that strapping a bomb on a pizza delivery guy and forcing him to rob a bank (or be blown to smithereens) may seem like a plot straight out of Hollywood, it actually happened in 2003.

On Aug. 28, 2003, Mama Mia Pizzeria delivery man Brian Wells was stopped by police during a bank robbery. Subsequently, Wells revealed a bomb strapped to his neck. He told police he had driven out to deliver a pizza but instead had been confronted by two men, who locked a time-bomb collar around his neck, and then sent him to rob a bank.Continue reading...

Global markets swoon after yesterday’s disaster on Wall Street.

Borden steps out with “Friends of Elsie” campaign.

Comcast and DirecTV engage in legal battle over advertising about NFL broadcasts.

Discovery Communications continues with upbeat reports.

Dodge leverages NASCAR to tout new Durango.

Dunkin’ Brands to boost prices to cover commodity-cost increases.Continue reading...

Who said America's love affair with the car is over?

A new report by J.D. Power & Associates confirms what everyone in the U.S. auto industry already understands these days: American consumers like sheetmetal that is new, different and exciting.

For the second consecutive year in Power’s annual APEAL study (an acronym for Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout), recently launched all-new and redesigned models are substantially more appealing than their carryover counterparts.

The new snapshot also includes especially good news for the BMW, Chrysler and Hyundai brands.Continue reading...

Green Lantern, the new #1 movie with $52.7 million at the box office over the weekend, is a tale of two product placement strategies.

The first: marketing blunderbuss that hopes to gain branding points by repeatedly smashing the audience in the face.

The second: a subtle, roundabout massaging of brand and message medium, a multi-level tie-in that proves, even if the brand partner (Chrysler) is still struggling with the fiscal disasters in its recent past, its mastery of product placement is now complete.

One challenge for the film's sponsors, despite its box office dominance: Green Lantern is not a great movie. That's bad news for at least some of the brands prominently tied into the film.

Bad films with gratuitous product placement inevitably get savaged for all the selling. For example, the Miami Herald: "Overkill seems to be (Green Lantern) director Martin Campbell's prime directive, followed by aggressive product placement."Continue reading...

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...

There are only so many aspects of everyday human life that we let robots control. From autopilot to cruise control to automatic anything. Dodge seems to feel we may be letting these machines run too much of our lives, and released a commercial to make that statement.Continue reading...

With Universal claiming that Fast Five's opening weekend is the most lucrative opening in the studio's history, it was a winning weekend for Chrysler and Dodge, the brand that poured a lot into the film including extensive cross-branding and marketing tie-ins, both onscreen and off.

Simply put, Fast Five will help move Dodge Chargers off the lot. And that's the greatest compliment a product placement can get. Even though there is evidence Dodge almost blew it.Continue reading...