The latest online marketing campaign by General Mills takes the idea of medical marijuana to a whole new level. The company — yes, that General Mills, maker of mostly mundane but helpful family-friendly products ranging from Cheerios to Hamburger Helper — has gone out on a marketing limb that seems drug-induced.

The company has launched a series of web videos in a promotion featuring Cheech and Chong touting General Mills' new FiberOne 90 Calorie Brownies. And General Mills leaves nothing to allusion or wink-wink suggestions in selecting the counter-cultural champions of cannabis haze as the focus of the effort.

The videos are positioned as a trailer and clips from what is billed as the comedy duo's first road epic in 28 years, "Cheech & Chong's Magic Brownie Adventure." On their way to deliver a truckful of the "magic brownies" to a desert festival, they indulge in a treat that is chock full of a different kind of organic substance than they're used to: fiber.Continue reading...

Amazon wins British top brand survey; and expands deal with FOX to stream TV shows and movies as the News Corp.-owned network gambles $50 million on Terra Nova series.

Apple dips on the back of JPMorgan's back-and-forth reports on iPad output.

Barnes & Noble will receive Borders customer list by end of October.

Berkshire Hathaway moves toward massive repurchase of its own shares, underscoring dilemma for companies – and investors like its chief, Warren Buffett —about what to do with their cash.

China's ‘Facebook’ (RenRen) buys Chinese YouTube (56.com).

Coca-Cola CEO sees U.S. becoming less business-friendly than China.Continue reading...

General Mills' "Coccoon" spot is oddly disturbing, not great at making people want to eat fruit snacks.

Creepy but more effective: Warner Bros. promotes new movie Matt Damon/Gwyneth Paltrow movie Contagion with a "bacteria billboard in Toronto."Continue reading...

Well, at least General Mills thinks that Aaron Rodgers is worthy of an endorsement contract: The cereal maker is featuring the Green Bay Packers Super Bowl MVP quarterback on boxes of Wheaties for a month, along with the team's defensive star, linebacker Clay Matthews. But only in Wisconsin.

The Wheaties deal illustrates one of the most interesting marketing twists of the new, almost-delayed season of NFL football.

Rodgers did the Walt Disney World parade thing on the day after his team's Super Bowl victory in February, appeared on the David Letterman show and did some of the other PR duties usually attendant to a good-looking, articulate, "elite" quarterback after leading such a march to the championship.

But for some reason, Rodgers has been slow to catch on as a spokesman for national brands in the way that the league's other top field generals, past and present, have done.Continue reading...

One of the characters on the ABC Family hit Pretty Little Liars came out as lesbian earlier this year, which prompted the right-wing Florida Family Association to start asking the show’s advertisers to stop buying ads during the program.

It appears that the FFA may have had success with two brands, though one of them denies the organization had anything to do with its decision: General Mills and RE/Max.

E! Online reports that the FFA says that having an actively lesbian character on the show, which reaches a demographic of teenage girls and young women, "sends the wrong message to these young girls, a message that reinforces and legitimizes this homosexual lifestyle in a manner that could affect these young girls' sexual identity for a lifetime."Continue reading...

How much is that doggy bed in the window? Shopkick knows.

The mobile application, which melds in-store and mobile retail, rewards consumers for just walking in, with further deals for scanning partner brand products at more than 250,000 stores across the U.S. 

Launching a year ago this month (it officially turns one on August 17th), its users have surpassed 6.5 million product scans as 12 new major brand partners sign on: CoverGirl, Disney, General Mills, Levi’s, Libman, Mead Johnson, Meguiar’s, Mr. Clean, Olay, Revlon, Tilex and Trident.Continue reading...

News Corp. shares tumble as company goes on PR offensive with print apology as News International's former head Rebekah Brooks was arrested Sunday, London's police chief quits and actor Jude Law claims his phone was hacked. Prime Minister David Cameron called in Parliament to deal with the scandal, as speculation rises about possible harm to Murdoch's US empire.

ABS by Alan Schwartz balks at design copyright protection.

Amana introduces new online shopping tool.

Australia's government launches campaign for carbon tax.

Borders faces liquidation.Continue reading...

General Mills Inc. has about $15 billion in annual revenue and 25% of that is in foreign sales. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that the company likely will boost that percentage with its $1.2 billion purchase of 51% of Yoplait S.A.S. from PAI Partners, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

General Mills has been the franchisee for Yoplait since 1977 but now it gets to call the shots alongside ownership partner Sodiaal, a French dairy cooperative. Internationally, Yoplait is the second strongest yogurt brand, but leads the pack domestically, the paper notes.

"Yoplait is a fantastic global brand with tremendous potential," said Ken Powell, Chairman and CEO, General Mills in a press release. "General Mills and Sodiaal are well-positioned to advance and grow the Yoplait brand around the world. It is an exciting combination."Continue reading...