American Express, Walmart co-branded Bluebird debit card gets FDIC insured.

T-Mobile finally gets the iPhone.

Abercrombie & Fitch set to open their first Middle Eastern store in Dubai next year. 

Bankrupt Atari plans to auction off gaming empire in May.

Victoria Beckham launches self-branded e-commerce site.

BMW named best overall luxury brand by Kelly Blue Book. 

Danone latest brand to partner with couponing app Shopitize.

GM introduces new Buick LaCrosse in effort to appeal to younger drivers.Continue reading...

General Motors brands and Lexus were the big winners when J.D. Power & Associates announced its highly regarded annual awards for dealership-customer satisfaction based on its survey of thousands of American automotive consumers.

Three GM brands—led by GMC, and also including No. 3 Buick and No. 4 Chevrolet—placed in the top five in Power's prestigious designation. No. 2 Mini and No. 5 Volkswagen rounded out the top five. Three Chrysler Group brands—Jeep, Ram and Dodge—finished at the bottom.

In the luxury arena, Lexus once again won the day—for the fifth straight year—followed by yet another GM brand, Cadillac; Jaguar; Acura; and Infiniti. BMW and Mercedes-Benz placed below average, while Land Rover gained the most of any luxury brand from last year.Continue reading...

FTC clarifies rules for social and mobile advertising.

Reader's Digest reports big gains among advertisers and readers.

Samsung deals with high expectations for Galaxy S IV as it outspends Apple on marketing.

BBC World News launches global marketing campaign.

Boeing gets FAA initial approval of battery fix for Dreamliner and wins $15 billion order from Ryanair for current 737 plane, report says.

Cadbury's Silk undergoing brand "renovation."

Chevrolet accelerates dealer infotainment training.Continue reading...

Taco Bell makes new Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos available a day early.

Fox reveals details of new planned national sports network to compete with ESPN.

Best Buy ends work-at-home program for corporate employees as Yahoo! policy continues to be debated.

Alfa Romeo says its performance numbers make 4C an ideal car for U.S. market.

Doritos launches first global campaign.

Fiat chief Sergio Marchionne presses full merger with Chrysler.

Groupon CFO says company's business model will stay.

JCPenney board's patience said to be wearing thin with CEO Ron Johnson, as Martha Stewart dished from the witness stand and rehashes her testimony on NBC's Today Show.Continue reading...

To paraphrase Don Draper: At last, a beautiful product placement Jaguar can truly own.

And own it they do when it comes to the latest music video for Lana Del Rey's new track "Burning Desire."

"I drive fast / Wind in my hair / I push you to the limits / Cause I just don't care," sings Del Rey. With her on a dark lonely stage and a Jaguar F-type on a sunny lonely highway, the video might be something Don Draper and team would have cooked up themselves.

It's been nearly a year since Jaguar was ambushed with its unflattering product placement on Mad Men, where Jaguar was party to prostitution and a failed suicide attempt. Jag's appearance in Del Rey's "Burning Desire" video is the latest step on the march to the upcoming debut of the branded film, "Desire," which the luxury automaker is commissioning from director Ridley Scott's production company.

Everything old is new again as auto companies from Mercedes to Dodge are embracing the exploding auto-branded content format... again. Continue reading...

It's not exactly James Bond and his Aston-Martin. But British TV star Damian Lewis is just fine with playing a co-lead role with the new Jaguar F-Type sports car in a new promotional mini-movie for the new model.

Called Desire, the film is being made in collaboration with director Ridley Scott and features music by Lana Del Rey. Appearing alongside Golden Globe winner Lewis, who stars stars in Homeland, will be American actress Shannyn Sossamon. Jaguar is slowly revealing aspects of the mini-movie with behind-the-scenes featurettes, the latest of which (above) was posted this week.

The production echoes how BMW innovated in branded content about a decade ago with an online-only series of short films for the web.Continue reading...

RIM prepares for BlackBerry 10 global launch this morning.

UPS acquisition of TNT formally blocked by EU.

Boeing had concerns about batteries before Dreamliner failures.

Taco Bell and Volkswagen get heat over their Super Bowl ads as Kia unveils full Space Babies spot.

Toyota recalls 1M Corollas and Lexus sedans.

AT&T bites deeper into Vampire Diaries with social "rehash."

American Airlines signals serious merger intentions with United Airways.

Apple refused bigger damages from judge in Samsung case.

Bob Evans plans to sell Mimi's Cafe.Continue reading...

McDonald's debuts new packaging featuring QR codes.

Samsung reportedly developing new Galaxy Tab 3 line-up and a tablet.

Walmart toughens ethics policies for suppliers with zero tolerance policy.

AB InBev wins court bid to get back Bud EU trademark for beer.

Boeing faces intensifying probes on troubled Dreamliner.

Caterpillar woes deepen in China.

Cumulus brings country music back to New York City radio.

Daimler commits to innovation in mobility.Continue reading...