Microsoft denied "Killer Instinct" trademark, as Microsoft-Google patent fight rests on "fairness" definition and Motorola is denied injuction against Microsoft in patent suit. Microsoft-Intel push to combat Apple in tablet space, meanwhile, seen as "sputtering."

American Suzuki forges ahead with incentives amid US wind down.

Apple wins six new design patents, sees increasing pricing tension with retailers and Steve Jobs bio pic starring Ashton Kutcher heading to Sundance.

Applebee's plans to open "green" restaurant in New York's Harlem where Hot Bread Kitchen is a rising local brand.

Balenciaga hires designer Alexander Wang as creative chief.

Baxter agrees to buy medical-equipment maker Gambro in company's biggest acquisition.Continue reading...

Country? England. Gun? Shot. Agent? Provocateur. Murder? Employment. Skyfall? Product placement.

The latest James Bond film hit the US this weekend, letting audiences decide for themselves what all the product placement hubbub was about. The verdict? Meh. Some valuations have nailed down some dollar numbers on just how much exposure Skyfall brought its top-line brand partners, but what about the unidentifiable brands on-screen?

Despite no label ever being seen, at least one already has backorders going into 2013. And what to make of Bond's glorious return to tobacco?Continue reading...

The upcoming James Bond film Skyfall is a marketing juggernaut for its tie-in partners as well as for the products that will actually appear in the film. These placed products include Coke Zero, Sony, Caterpillar, gunmaker Walther and, of course, most famously, Heineken. Even Turkey and China are associating with 007.

One of the firms responsible for some of Skyfall's product placement is Seesaw Media. Brandchannel spoke with Seesaw Media Founder and Director Darryl Collis about the hullaballoo over the product placement in Skyfall as well as how all of the negative media might impact future product placement deals.Continue reading...

Dow Chemical to slash 2,400 jobs and close 20 plants.

Zynga cuts staff and kills some games.

BBC investigating staff members in Jimmy Savile sex scandal as New York Times public editor calls for scrutiny of incoming CEO, ex-BBC exec Mark Thompson.

AT&T reports slower growth in new customers.

American Airlines expands route network.

Apple finally unveils its new smaller iPad as advertisers and publishers contemplate utility of new model.

BAE faces pressure after collapse of EADS deal.Continue reading...

Just as it did with the last Spider-Man movie, Sony has released a movie tie-in commercial for the upcoming James Bond movie that showcases the Xperia TL, the official smartphone of Skyfall. Sony Classical has also announced that it will release the Skyfall soundtrack on Nov. 6th.

Sony joins Heineken, Walther, Coke Zero, Omega, Tom Ford and other brands tapping into Skyfall fever. As  Anderson Cooper's recent 007 profile on 60 Minutes reported, "companies don't pay to be placed in a Bond film but agree to spend millions marketing the movies. Heineken, 007's beer of choice in Skyfall, is spending $75 million on a worldwide ad campaign."

The sure-to-be-blockbuster's most unexpected product placement so far?Continue reading...

Heineken isn’t just James Bond's new beer of choice, with a swanky limited edition collectors' edition in Europe whetting fans' thirst for the upcoming Skyfall movie. The brand also is consumed by enough Americans to make it the nation’s top upscale beer import. And the Dutch brewer wants to keep spreading the brand love.

With that in mind, Heineken has partnered with New York's up and coming Public School fashion label to create a limited-edition camouflage duffel bag in honor of the third annual “Heineken 100,” which honors “tastemakers,” according to a press release. The pair previously collaborated on a limited-edition T-shirt that you may have missed.

"We chose Public School as a partner because their clientele, like ours, are open-minded, confident, resourceful men who know quality, seek out new experiences and are ever-evolving in all aspects of their life," said (Bond-worthy named) Olga Osminkina, senior brand director of Heineken USA. "We hope this is one of many future collaborations with innovative and accomplished designers who align perfectly with the aspirations of the Heineken consumer."

The brewer is all about new looks these days as it also has redesigned its packaging for the first time since 1946 — meaning that James Bond isn't the only star on its bottle. The brand's new “Star Bottle” design (see below) that's coming to the U.S. is now rolling out to some vendors in New York and is scheduled to be on shelves in the rest of the country by March of next year.Continue reading...

"The Walther PPK. 7.65 millimeter. With a delivery like a brick through a plate glass window... The American CIA swear by them."
— Dr. No (1962)

It's no secret that the next James Bond film Skyfall will be a product placement bonanza, and musical — thanks to Adele's theme song, which was released at 00:07 a.m. for today's 50th Anniversary Global James Bond Day and briskly set a download record on iTunes.

Already, the new Bond film is weathering complaints about everything from Coke Zero to China. From the trailer, we already know Skyfall will feature Sony's Vaio, a product placement that filled 2006's Casino Royale and the whole film has become bogged down dealing with its new villain nemesis: Heineken product placement. But one brand has appeared in more James Bond films than any other, and stands to get an even bigger role this year in Skyfall. Yet, Bond after Bond, it passes practically without comment.

Starting 50 years ago today with 1962's Dr. No, every 007 agent on-screen has carried a Walther handgun. The cineman's suave series of Bonds have carried the Walther PPK (Polizei Pistole Kriminal) model before switching to the Walther P99 in Tomorrow Never Dies. But trailers from the upcoming Bond film Skyfall show that Daniel Craig's Bond is returning to the PPK, an event monumental enough to warrant its own scene.Continue reading...

With little to gain and a lot to lose, playing politics is something brands generally do from a position of neutrality ("7-Election"), low-brow humor (Gas-X's "Gas Crisis") or outright mocking of the system (Etch A Sketch; Reebok's 2003 Terry Tate candidacy). So when the Most Interesting Man in the World chose to host a fundraising event for President Barack Obama, Dos Equis's parent Heineken USA was understandably vexed, forced into one of those frustrating statements all brands hate to make that include the words "views are strictly his own, and do not represent."

But maybe Dos Equis — and Heineken — should play to their brand strengths. According to a recent study, both brands' drinkers trend Democratic, with the former rated the most popular beer amongst lefties. So when viewers drunkenly yell at the TV during the first 2012 presidential debate on Wednesday, chances are they will do so with very partisan bottles in hand.Continue reading...