When one thinks of Target, it's certainly fitting to imagine the retailer as an outlet for the teenage girls that form the bulk of The Hunger Games' most dedicated fan base. What may not be so fitting to the Target brand and clientele are the terms like "14-carat gold replicas" and "$999 each." Yet, this is what Target is dangling as one of the marquee features of its exclusive Hunger Games DVD release event.Continue reading...

"Some journalists have been surprised to see Olympic workers taping over the logos on their Dell and Apple computers, since neither company is bankrolling the games, and the U.S. women's soccer team has been told not to hand out its media guide because it has 12 small logos of its sponsors — which are not official Olympics 2012 backers."

The absurd levels to which Olympic organizers are going to erase any and every possible non-sponsor brand name from peaking out came to its absurd apex on Saturday during the archery competition. On his way to the bronze medal, Chinese archer Xiaoxiang Dai was forced to put neon-yellow tape on his hat to cover its nearly invisible, black on black logo for… the Chicago Bears. Continue reading...

Yves Saint Laurent announced last month that it was dropping the Yves from its ready-to-wear line, and the logo looks to have shed a little weight as well.

A big departure from the brand's iconic intertwining YSL letters, the new logo (revealed on its Facebook page) is all caps in white type on a black background, signaling a return to an earlier period of the company when the logo type was much simpler and straightforward. New York magazine notes commenters on the brand's Facebook page harrumphing at the change. "Where's the iconography? This is not iconic," said one. "YSL without the Y is not YSL," wrote another.

Looks like recently appointed creative director Hedi Slimane is going to have a lot of defending to do while designing the next line of clothes and bags — or NYC T-shirt company Rocksmith may feel compelled to cover up the brand's logo yet again.

Social media has long been a digital driver for the hybrid sport/entertainment brand that is World Wrestling Entertainment. WWE now boasts more than 73 million Facebook fans, 30 million Twitter followers, one billion video views on YouTube and an average of 50 trending topics weekly on Twitter. 

Now WWE has tapped social video startup Tout to leverage and amplify WWE’s assets including television, live events, digital and print. The partnership has helped the WWE garner 100 million fans globally. One of them — 27-year-old Alex Guerrero, Jr, from San Antonio, Texas — became WWE's 100 millionth fan, winning a free trip to Monday Night Raw’s 1,000th episode on USA Network, which is broadcasting live tonight from St. Louis, Mo.Continue reading...

Did you know that it’s National Ice Cream month in the U.S.? Fans of Ben & Jerry’s like Dan Eslinger from Louisville, Kentucky are cognizant and observant, and just the kind of brand enthusiast the ice cream maker loves back.

Eslinger’s wife, Erin, posted his picture on her Facebook page, as he proudly displayed his collection of the different Ben & Jerry’s pint cups he’s consumed since 1999. The “Wall of Fame container pyramid” represents flavors now in B&J's ice cream graveyard up to and includes recent releases available at today’s Scoop Shops. Eslinger has tried them all. 

In appreciation, the company sent shirts, coupons, and an autographed Ben & Jerry’s Frisbee to Eslinger, followed by a call from the company’s Cofounder Jerry Greenfield and a personal invitation to visit B&J's Vermont HQ with his wife, Erin.Continue reading...

For all the talk of resurrecting Elvis Presley as a hologram and taking him, virtually, back on tour, fans of The King would say there is no better celebration than the annual Elvis Week that takes over Memphis every August.

This year it's taking place August 10-18, overlapping the 35th anniversary of the legendary singer's death on August 16th. Skeptics would say it's just one more way to shore up the earnings of a dead celebrity who ranked second (behind Michael Jackson) on Forbes magazine's 2011 "top earning dead celebrities" list, bringing in a hip-gyrating $55 million.

Elvis Week 2012 is the culmination of a year-long celebration expected to draw the largest crowds ever — including Elvis himself. That's right, the "Elvis 35th Anniversary Concert," to be held on Thursday night, August 16 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, features "a spectacular live music experience starring the real Elvis Presley via video," according to information distributed by Elvis Presley Enterprises.Continue reading...

The annual San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) kicks off today, and as ever, it's a massive promotional platform for brands.

Founded as the "Golden State Comic Book Convention" in 1970 by a group of San Diegan comic book fans, the annual fanfest has evolved to include video games, toys and other forms of genre entertainment. That's why Hollywood beats a path south to the show every year — to generate buzz among the estimated 250,000 comic book, sci-fi, fantasy, anime, and video game fans hitting town for the four day pop-culture fix.

One of the biggest movies being touted this year: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, which marks the cast's last appearance as Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner hyping the Nov. 16th final bow with a 1pm ET (above) panel. Also red-hot: Iron Man 3, with Robert Downey Jr. and co-stars on hand to promote the movie scheduled for May 3rd of next year.Continue reading...

The annual E3 video-game conference this week is bringing gamers a flurry of announcements to keep them excited about where the ever-evolving industry will take them next.

Ahead of the annual confab, Nintendo released a video (watch it below) to showcase how its new Wii U console (called the Wii U GamePad) will use social networking in new ways. “The machine will promote the Miiverse in which users can see what others are playing, share self-created game content and swap gaming tips,” the BBC reports.

The plan is for users to be able to connect into the network not just from the new console, but from PCs, smartphones, and 3DS handhelds.Continue reading...