Apple-led group including RIM and Ericsson buys Nortel patents for $4.5B.

Apple passes 100,000 iPad apps.

Audi targets Ferrari on racing circuit.

BP launches first TV commercial in the UK in five years.

Bulgari signs Rachel Weisz, develops branded hotel with Marriott to open in London.

Chevy US sales hit 20-year high.Continue reading...

Chex Quest, from General Mills, was the first video game to ever be included in cereal boxes as a prize back in 1996. Fast forward 15 years to Create a Comic, General Mills' latest digital advergame designed to engage kids with the Honey Nut Cheerios cereal brand. 

In that brief span of 15 years, the playbook on marketing to children has been rewritten by all things digital, and marketers are increasingly using games, quizzes and mobile apps to woo kids into a social web where they essentially act as marketers themselves.Continue reading...

Other than the fact that they're both sequels of massive box office successes, the two big films opening this weekend, Kung Fu Panda 2 and The Hangover: Part 2, couldn't be more different. One is for immature audiences and the other is Kung Fu Panda 2. KIDDING! 

DreamWorks' PG-rated Kung Fu Panda sequel will go up against the Warner Bros. R-rated Hangover return in a battle for completely different demographics. And when it comes to product placement, the two franchises are, as you might expect, different beasts as well.Continue reading...

Walk into a Target store any time through June 10 and you might think you got caught in the spin cycle of a time machine. That's because you'll find the venerable Procter & Gamble brands Tide, Bounce and Downy available on Target's shelves in limited edition retro packaging. 

"Surprising guests with vintage packaging speaks to Target's goal of keeping the weekly shopping trip fun and fresh," says Amy Cantu, a spokesperson for Target.Continue reading...

Angry Birds maker Rovio aims for IPO within 2-3 years.

Arnold Schwarzenegger scandal seen as affecting his political, not entertainment, brand.

Apple and Google askeded to FCC location tracking forum.

Clearwire taps Ericsson to take over network management.

General Mills to buy controlling stake in Yoplait.

Hershey CEO switches to Del Monte.

LinkedIn sets IPO at $45/share for $350 million.Continue reading...

The newest version of Kellogg's Rice Krispies may still snap, crackle and pop – but the little guys hiding in the cereal will have to do it without benefit of gluten. In a major acknowledgement of the fast-growing demand for gluten-free foods, Kellogg has announced the introduction of Rice Krispies Gluten Free Cereal.

Because of the rising incidence and recognition of celiac disease and gluten intolerance among American consumers, both adults and kids, all manner of natural-foods and niche startups created the gluten-free ready-to-eat cereal niche. And they have commanded this growing segment in part because the cereal industry’s major players mostly have left it to them.

Kellogg’s latest move could change all of that.

Breakfast cereal largely is considered a better-for-you aisle in the supermarket anyway – except for those pesky concerns about too much sugar – and Kellogg, General Mills and others have made major strides in boosting the intrinsic healthfulness of their products over the last several years. Not only have they largely switched to whole-grain raw materials but they also have created countless low-sugar and low-sodium options and included actual fruit in more varieties.

Rice Krispies Gluten Free represents the next step.Continue reading...

AT&T argues to US regulators that T-Mobile deal will promote competition.

Amazon glitch that hobbled websites also a setback for cloud computing.

American Express teams with Facebook for small-business contest.

Apple sees consumer enthusiasm grow in China as Greenpeace names it the “least green” tech company for relying on coal.

Chipotle hiring practices come under federal investigation.

General Mills tries Groupon in first packaged-goods partnership for the online-discount site.Continue reading...

For Pringles now, it’s not about the brand’s checkered past as the last food-product orphan of Procter & Gamble. It’s about what Diamond Foods might be able to do with the venerable chip line now that the company known for nuts is using its purchase of Pringles to vault into the top tier of U.S. salty-snacks empires.

Frito-Lay is still No. 1 by far, but adding Pringles to its stable in a $2.35-billion pickup from P&G will allow Diamond to become a strong No. 2 player in the category. In 2008, San Francisco-based Diamond acquired Pop Secret from General Mills and leapt into the popcorn category. Now, the company founded by California walnut growers will attempt to fire up growth of one of the most mature brands in the segment.

It was just a matter of time before P&G let Pringles go.Continue reading...