MetLife debuts the musical TV commercial above — featuring Charlie Brown's piano-loving buddy Schroeder and a lovestruck Lucy — during tonight's CBS broadcast of the Grammy awards. It's a continuation of its Super Bowl debut last weekend, with a spot titled "Everyone" that featured the Peanuts gang and 56 other cartoon characters and a new tagline ("I can do this") for the brand. Find out more on the campaign below.Continue reading...

As the world's biggest stage for marketers, we'd have to give Super Bowl XLVI, generously, a B-minus. While the game was compellingly competitive right until the last play, and Madonna acquitted herself pretty well for a 53-year-old halftime-show attraction, America's brand marketers barely held up their end of the extravaganza.

For one thing, there was no genuine stand-up-and-cheer advertising moment during NBC's telecast as there was last year, in Chrysler's spot featuring Eminem and its new Chrysler 200 "Imported from Detroit," although Clint Eastwood was a worthy successor.

In fact, stand-out moments in the ads were almost non-existent; the humor that carried most of the ads didn't come close to an outbreak of hilarity; and a few spots manifested jump-the-shark syndrome, such as an NBC promo that cameoed Betty White.Continue reading...

The Super Bowl buzz window before Sunday's Big Game isn't closed yet! Among those bellying up with sneak peeks at their full SB46 commercials today include Century 21's official spot (above) with Donald Trump, Deion Sanders and Apolo Anton Ohno.

Pepsi also revealed its much-hyped ad starring Elton John and X Factor winner Melanie Amaro, who only wants some Pepsi — and uses her award-winning pipes to get some from a reluctant King John:Continue reading...

Apple suspends iPhone 4S sales in China after riot breaks out at Beijing launch.

Delta eyes bid for American Airlines, AFP says, and so do others.

MetLife cuts 4,300 jobs as company exits mortgage business.

BMW and Daimler plan to raise U.S. output.

Bank of America ponders retreat from some regions of U.S.

Best Buy sees fallout from holiday delivery foul-up.

CBS talks with David Letterman about a new contract.

CVS Caremark settles deceptive-pricing charges.

Chipotle plans to open second ShopHouse Asian restaurant.

Coca-Cola expands social marketing to Tumblr.Continue reading...

Hurricane Irene seems to be aiming for the Northeastern U.S. megalopolis.

ABC refuses to air ad for Our Idiot Brother flick.

Apple prepares for life after Steve Jobs' leadership as new chief e-mails the troops.

Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett invest $5 billion in Bank of America, shoring up the stock, as the financier prepares to host a fund-raiser for Presidnet Obama, and Charles Schwab sues the bank and others over a financial-markets intricacy.

Burger King finds the King listed at one of Time magazine's "creepiest" brand mascots.Continue reading...

The return to near-normalcy of the National Football League has helped legions of brand marketeers to breathe more easily, and has loosened a logjam of potential deals that were held up as the NFL and its players slogged through resolution of their labor dispute. Presumably, one of those deals now is coming out in the form of the formalization of MetLife's deal to purchase the naming rights for the Meadlowlands Stadium in New Jersey, which shall henceforth be known as MetLife Stadium.

It's a lot better deal for the insurance giant to be spreading its brand all over (and around) the playing field for the New York Giants and New York Jets than to be observing the action from high above in the MetLife blimp, as the company became known for doing. The 25-year deal for the Meadowlands -- the nation's most expensive sports stadium, at a cost of $1.6 billion, and the only one that houses two NFL teams -- gives MetLife interior and exterior branding on the venue as well as naming rights, extra signs and branded features at various spots in the stadium, and of course opportunities in print, TV and other media.Continue reading...

Stock markets plunge on unsettling economic news.

Bank of America says some of its debit cards were compromised.

Coca-Cola plans $4-billion investment in China.

HP to spin off PCs and exit tablets.

Maserati to build SUV in Michigan at Chrysler plant.

MetLife leads variable-annuity sales.

Motorola can't solicit rival offers to Google's, papers say.

Nissan plans to quadruple market share in China.

Volkswagen isn't interested in buying Opel from General Motors, report says.

President Obama begins his vacation on Martha's Vineyard.

General Motors isn’t the only company hoping to benefit from its current summer promotion: a test offer of a free year of car insurance to new-vehicle buyers in Washington and Oregon. MetLife, the policy provider, is looking for a potentially significant bump as well.

The Warwick, R.I.-based insurer and the Detroit-based automaker have structured the marketing as a sort of co-branded arrangement designed to do just that. 

MetLife is hoping for greater exposure in a weak geographic market for its brand, Bob Lundgren, VP of product development for MetLife Auto & Home, told brandchannel. GM also is seeking to boost its market share in a traditionally sub-par market, although the company has done a bit better in each state this year than last year so far.Continue reading...