Recent news of Kim Jong Il's death in North Korea may have rattled its democratic neighbor, but that isn't putting a dent in South Korea's economic growth. One company that continues to be a star player in that economy is Samsung, the country's largest conglomerate.

As Samsung gets ready for CES in Las Vegas, it got 2012 rolling with a bold pronouncement from chairman Lee Kun-hee, who said the company intends to become South Korea's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) leader.Continue reading...

While HP won't be bringing a new logo to CES next week in Las Vegas, it appears to be getting ready to unveil a new ultrabook. As the glimpses in the teaser video for the mysteriously named Spectre shows, it's certainly a thin and sleek laptop — and a chance for HP to redeem itself from the TouchPad fiasco, which was pulled after seven weeks and called the biggest tech flop of 2011 by the New York Times.

Can’t wait for the North American International Auto Show to kick off on January 9th in Detroit so you can see the next version of the Ford Fusion? Well, you don’t have to.

Ford has released an app for the iPhone and Android that is simply activated by pointing the mobile device at a Ford logo, whether it’s on a car, online, or on a piece of paper, Mashable reports.

The app, which can be found on the Ford Fusion Facebook page, allows users to go for a drive in the new car on a variety of courses and gives them the ability to view the bare bones of the new car from 360 degrees.Continue reading...

Plenty of people overextend themselves financially to afford such things as cell phones, but if you live in Kansas City, you might be able to get yourself a cell phone even if you don’t have enough cash to actually afford one.

Sprint Nextel, which is based in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, is providing free phones and minutes for some low-income families, according to the Kansas City Star. The company’s newest pre-paid brand, Assurance Wireless, launched this week as a subsidiary of Sprint Nextel that Virgin Mobile USA, Inc. operates. Assurance offers lifeline telephone service, meaning it offers free phones and 250 free minutes to qualifying households, and uses the Sprint national wireless network in the U.S.

Paying customers subsidize the free phones and minutes, just as they have for years with land lines. The Universal Service Fund and federal Lifeline Assistance program that you may find on your phone bill are ways that those with more cash have helped get phone service to the poor, particularly in rural areas, the Star notes.

Now Sprint Nextel is using that money to help subsidize the free phones and minutes it is handing out to those who qualify.Continue reading...

Fiat, which just ousted its North America head in the wake of disappointing sales of the 500 in the U.S., has come under fire for the celebrity pitching the 500 — Jennifer Lopez. As The Smoking Gun website broke this week, the "My World" spot (released in October) claims to feature "Jenny from the Block" tooling around her old neighborhood in the Bronx. The only problem: the whole thing was faked, with a body double used for the New York shoot while JLo shot her sequence in Los Angeles. Making matters worse, the New York lookalike's 500 cabrio broke down during filming.Continue reading...

She hired Jennifer Lopez, hit New York Fashion Week with Gucci in tow, put JLo in a Gucci-wrapped Fiat car, and even put a Fiat on stage with JLo in what's been called the most "brazen" product placement in some time. Fiat North America head Laura Soave also oversaw launch marketing for the 2012 Fiat 500 that channeled Elvis Presley, brought drive-in movies, bocce and espresso to Times Square and other cities — but none of it sold the new 500 in the U.S. market the way that Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne had hoped.

So on Monday Marchionne ousted Soave and named a new head of the Fiat brand for North America: Timothy Kuniskis, who was director of marketing for Chrysler and Fiat brands and now replaces Soave as head of Fiat North America. Soave, meanwhile, is leaving the company "other interests," the company stated in that favorite of corporate euphemisms.Continue reading...

Don’t know if you’ve heard, but America is — er, how to say this nicely? — fat. The terms “overweight” and “obese” have been beaten into consumer consciousness so much that soda companies, long the target of ire of the health-conscious, have been trying to find a lower-calorie option that consumers across the girth of a nation can enjoy.

PepsiCo claims to have the answer. Since July, it has been testing out a low-sugar, mid-calorie soda, Pepsi NEXT, in Wisconsin and Iowa and the consumer response "exceeded … expectations," according to AP. Now, the company plans to start selling its newest brand nationally early next spring, AP reports. 

With 60% fewer calories than regular Pepsi, Pepsi NEXT weighs in at 40 calories per 8-oz serving and 60 calories per 12-oz serving. Pepsi-Cola North America described the beverage as a health-conscious alternative in its press release announcing the July test: 

"Pepsi NEXT was created for consumers who seek the rich taste of full-calorie cola but have decreased their consumption in order to reduce the sugar in their diet. While sugar-reduction is a priority for this segment, they have not adopted the flavor profile of a zero calorie cola. Pepsi NEXT delivers in the sweet-spot for these consumers with its real cola flavor and 60 percent less sugar."

"As part of our continued commitment to innovate our carbonated soft-drinks portfolio, we developed Pepsi NEXT, a great tasting, full-flavor cola with 60 percent less sugar," said Massimo d'Amore, CEO, PepsiCo Beverages America. "In thorough consumer research, Pepsi NEXT resonated very well with consumers who are seeking a new, reduced sugar alternative to their loved cola."

The word from Beverage Digest is that the company will sell NEXT, which competes with Coke Zero, in a few different sizes and plans to eventually sell it outside of the U.S., but a PepsiCo spokesperson wouldn’t confirm either of those statements.Continue reading...

Just after the Unhate campaign — a global call to action to combat the “culture of hatred” by Italian fashion retailer Benetton — launched in Paris yesterday, a swift rebuke from the Vatican showed it had struck a nerve.

Benetton's digitally created imagery included a billboard showing Pope Benedict XVI kissing Mohammed Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand sheikh of al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, the most important and moderate centre for Sunni Islamic studies in the world. According to The Guardian, Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi criticised the clothing company for exploiting the pope's image as part of the Unhate campaign's doctored series of images of political and religious leaders locking lips:

"We must express the firmest protest for this absolutely unacceptable use of the image of the Holy Father, manipulated and exploited in a publicity campaign with commercial ends. This shows a grave lack of respect for the pope, an offence to the feelings of believers, a clear demonstration of how publicity can violate the basic rules of respect for people by attracting attention with provocation."

Benetton pulled the unholy papal smooch ad (having separately pulled another image showing now-resigned Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi kissing Angela Merkel). The brand responded to the papal rebuke by saying it was sorry the picture "had so hurt the sensibilities of the faithful." The brand surprised some observers by capitulating — which it may not have done back in the days when its advertising delighted in being an in-your-face "subverter of stereotypes."

The Vatican, meanwhile, is reportedly still planning to sue Benetton to make sure the controversial image takes a permanent vow of silence.Continue reading...