Think of Mattel's new Monster High (which hit stores on Friday the 13th, naturally) as Twilight meets High School Musical meets Britney Spears, a tween scream brand with a sense of humor. "The latest fashion dolls from Mattel Inc. are a dramatic departure from the toy maker's most recognizable blond: As the offspring of famous monsters, the new Monster High girls are fearless, occasionally furry and a bit freaky," the Los Angeles Times writes.

"They're fun characters to build a world around," said Tim Kilpin, GM for Mattel Brands, tells the Times. "Who doesn't feel like a freak in high school? It started with that universal truth." Mattel has a lot riding on this new franchise, which isn't a spinoff so needs to build a fan base and buzz from scratch.

Monster High marks "the first time that Mattel has introduced a new toy concept as a complete franchise, far from its typical approach of rolling out a toy first and evaluating its success before moving forward with related products."Continue reading...

Bratz—the brand and dolls—have been on ice since December while MGA Entertainment tussled with Mattel over rights to the 10-year old brand, which was a billion-dollar franchise at the height of its popularity in the mid-1990s.

Barbie's parent company claimed ownership because Bratz creator Carter Bryant was employed by the toy giant as a stylist when he came up with the concept, which he pitched and sold to MGA. Last week, a federal court threw out Mattel's claim and cleared MGA to resume marketing and distributing the line.

The new Bratz dolls have tamed their look (read: less makeup, more clothing) and will start hitting retailers shortly. But will its target audience—tween girls—even care?Continue reading...

Apple and J&J considered "most trustworthy" in a U.S. consumer survey.

Bratz dolls owner MGA Entertainment won back the rights to the brand from Mattel.

Caterpillar's healthy second-quarter earnings bodes well for the global industrial economy.

Channel Five in the U.K. has a handshake deal to be acquired by media tycoon Richard Desmond.

Comic-Con is underway in San Diego, where comic-book and movie superheroes take center stage.

Fiat pushes work ethic at Italian plant.

Ford posted its highest quarterly gains in six years, thanks to higher priced models and upgrades to SYNC.Continue reading...

Mad Men's stylish cast (and their Barbie versions: Roger, Joan, Don and Betty) are ready for Sunday's season 4 premiere. Check out Barbie circa season 1 after the jump.

Betty White is putting her face on a limited collection of hipster hoodies.

Booty Pop spearheads fashion's rear view.

Diane Von Furstenberg and other fashion designers are in love with Twitter.

Katy Perry will launch her first perfume exclusively at Neiman Marcus.Continue reading...

Lady Gaga's Bad Romance video has sparked a craze for contact lenses that mimic her doe-eyed look — and the FDA is not a fan.

Known as circle lenses and marketed by Asian websites such as the Malaysia-based Pinky Paradise, they come in colors such as lime green and purple and extend the iris to simulate larger-than-life anime- or doll-style eyes.

The only problem: they're considered dangerous in the U.S., which doesn't seem to bother e-tailers racking up sales of the contraband contacts.Continue reading...

Microsoft is scrapping its social youth-aiming Kin phone after less than two months on the market.

AIG's chairman and CEO are at odds.

Amazon acquired deal-of-the-day site, Woot, which celebrates with $150 Kindle special. Kindle DX also slashes price.

Apple launches iAds today with Nissan, Citi, Unilever, AT&T, Best Buy, and Chanel.Continue reading...

Brandchannel has already reported on the Apple product placement "Easter egg" in this week's number one film, Toy Story 3 (above). But were there any more? Now that Pixar is a Disney company, was the third film in the series loaded with profit-generating product tie-ins? Don't miss our latest Brandcameo analysis, detailing product placements in the third part of the Toy Story trilogy, the #1 movie at the box office and the biggest-grossing debut for Disney's Pixar studio.

BP CEO Tony Hayward will face a tough audience and aim to strike an emotional chord (and avert criminal charges) in his testimony in Washington today, as company's shares rise on news of $20 billion compensation fund. Obama's speech on the oil spill Tuesday night? Too "professorial" says linguist.

Two Dutch women appeared in court in South Africa, facing jail time over Bavaria Beer's ambush marketing stunt at the World Cup.

AOL confirms Bebo sale to turnaround firm.

Bank of America and other banks hope to phase out free checking without alienating customers.

Boots becomes first major UK retailer to adopt contactless Mastercard payments.

Facebook valuation debate: $3.60 or $136.38 per fan?Continue reading...